VAERS – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

The FDA has provided no evidence that children died because of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Anchiy/E+ via Getty Images

December 3, 2025

FDA claims on COVID‑19 vaccine safety are unsupported by reliable data – and could severely hinder vaccine access

Frank Han, University of Illinois Chicago

The agency’s plan to change the well-established process for safety testing vaccines is not realistic.

Government approval of COVID-19 vaccines determines their availability to populations vulnerable to infection, such as children. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

September 17, 2025

Vaccine death and side effects database relies on unverified reports – and Trump officials and right‑wing media are applying it out of context

Matt Motta, Boston University and Dominik Stecuła, The Ohio State University

Anti-vaccine activists are using the side effect reporting system to spread fear and misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines. But the database could also be used as a gauge for public concerns.

Vaccine hesitancy has been a growing challenge for more than a decade. Concerns about vaccine safety and adverse events are the most commonly cited reasons. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

November 11, 2021

How cognitive biases and adverse events influence vaccine decisions (maybe even your own)

Hossein Azarpanah, Concordia University; Louise Pilote, McGill University; Mohsen Farhadloo, Concordia University, and Rustam Vahidov, Concordia University

To help increase trust in vaccines, researchers analyzed data on adverse events to address safety concerns, and then used cognitive science to show how cognitive biases feed vaccine hesitancy.

Studying trends in public adverse event reporting could help researchers address vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. Pict Rider/iStock via Getty Images Plus

August 25, 2021

Unverified reports of vaccine side effects in VAERS aren’t the smoking guns portrayed by right‑wing media outlets – they can offer insight into vaccine hesitancy

Matt Motta, Oklahoma State University and Dominik Stecuła, Colorado State University

Anti-vaccine activists are using the side effect reporting system to spread fear and misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines. But the database could also be used as a gauge for public concerns.

Put into context, the benefits of vaccination still far outweigh the risks of rare adverse events. PenWin/iStock via Getty Images Plus

July 22, 2021

New COVID‑19 vaccine warnings don’t mean it’s unsafe – they mean the system to report side effects is working

Justin Vesser, University of Virginia

Ongoing tracking is meant to spot very rare risks – like the connection between the Johnson & Johnson shot and Guillain-Barré syndrome. And it relies on public reporting.

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