COVID-19, Vaccines, and Retinal Vascular Disease

A global systematic review of 173 studies found differing associations between COVID-19 infection and vaccination and retinal vascular events, with retinal artery occlusion more common after infection and retinal vein occlusion more common after vaccination.

By
Nirojini Sivachandran, MD, PhD, FRCSC
May 14, 2026
2 min

Retinal Physician

Objective:

To investigate the associations between COVID-19 infection, vaccination, and retinal vascular events.

Key Findings:

Retinal artery occlusion is more common after COVID-19 infection.
Retinal vein occlusion is more common after COVID-19 vaccination.
The mRNA vaccine platform is associated with a higher rate of ocular adverse events compared to other vaccine types.
Pooled relative risk for retinal vein occlusion was found to be 2.4, but results were statistically inconclusive due to study heterogeneity.

Interpretation:

The findings suggest a need for retina physicians to consider retinal vascular occlusions and related conditions in patients with COVID-19 infection or vaccination.

Limitations:

Wide confidence intervals and study heterogeneity limit the conclusiveness of the findings.
Potential biases in the included studies may affect the results.