When you get a flu shot or other vaccination, it is normal to experience mild pain at the injection site. But, what if your pain lingers? What if it gets worse over time? What if you start to experience other effects, such as reduced strength or limited mobility in your shoulder? These are all possible symptoms of a class of injuries known as “shoulder injury related to vaccine administration,” or “SIRVA.”

Unlike other common vaccine injuries, SIRVA do not result from adverse reactions to particular vaccine ingredients. Instead, they result from damage to the muscle or other tissue in the shoulder as a result of mistakes made during the vaccination process. This includes mistakes such as inserting the needle in the wrong location, inserting the needle at the wrong angle and using a needle that is the wrong size for the vaccine recipient’s sex and weight. Continue reading →