In December 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use authorization. We investigated the ocular adverse event reports in patients reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) following vaccination against COVID-19. We searched the VAERS database for U.S. reports among persons who received COVID-19 vaccines between December 2020 and December 2021. Our goal was to analyze and quantify the ocular adverse events submitted to VAERS to provide clinicians and researchers with a broader view of these ocular side effects. During the analysis period, VAERS received 55,313 adverse event reports and, after data cleaning, 6688 reports met the inclusion criteria. Note that 2229 (33.33%) adverse events were classified as cases of eyelid swelling, ocular hyperemia and conjunctivitis, 1785 (26.69%) as blurred vision and 1322 (19.77%) as visual impairment. Females accounted for 73.8% of adverse event reports and the age group between 40 and 59 years had the most frequent adverse events. A higher proportion of these adverse events reported to VAERS was linked with the Janssen and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. At the time of vaccination, a high proportion of patients reported conditions like allergies, hypertension, diabetes, thyroid disease, vascular and other autoimmune diseases. A review of these data suggests a possible association between COVID-19 vaccines and ocular adverse events. Physicians are cautioned not only to be aware of this potential problem, but to check any underlying patient conditions, and to carefully document in VAERS within a few weeks of vaccination. Future COVID-19 vaccine safety studies in healthy subjects would help clarify the vaccine’s safety profile.

Background: Major Depressive Disorder is a leading cause of disability worldwide and one of the most common disorders in the United States. Contributors to an individual’s risk for experiencing depressive disorders include individual and social factors. Although the social determinants of health (SDOH) are conditions that contribute to healthy functioning, health outcomes, and quality of life, it is unclear to what extent adverse SDOH experiences are associated with self-reporting depressive disorder (DD). Methods: Data from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a population-based telephone survey of noninstitutionalized U.S. adults, was employed in this study. Lifetime diagnosis of DD was self-reported among survey participants who also completed the Social Determinants of Health optional module within 17 participating BRFSS states and entities. Rao-Scott chi-square analysis was used to determine the association of individual and SDOH measures with DD. Results: The prevalence of DD among participating states was 19.85%. Among respondents, significant proportional differences were observed for each SDOH indicator regarding DD status. However, significant differences in health insurance coverage were not observed. Conclusion: Survey respondents with a lifetime diagnosis of DD experienced adverse SDOH conditions in greater proportion than individuals not reporting DD. Individual and community-based approaches to address the contextual influences of depressive disorders should be aggressively implemented.