Syndrome SIRVA

Shoulder injury related to vaccine administration, or SIRVA, happens when a vaccine is injected too high or too deep in the shoulder. Injecting the vaccine this way can lead to intense and prolonged pain and other shoulder injuries, such as a rotator cuff tear or tendonitis.

Shoulder injections are typically given in the deltoid muscle. When a provider uses a needle that is too long for the patient or does not inject in the correct spot in the shoulder, the needle can hit bone or puncture the fluid-filled sac (called the bursa), which protects the tendons in the shoulder. When this happens, the bursa, tendons, and ligaments can become inflamed. SIRVA comes from a misplaced injection, not the contents of the vaccine.

SIRVA affects the parts of your shoulder that allow you to move your arm comfortably. Usually, it manifests as sudden pain or a decreased range of motion within 48 hours of a vaccine injection, but it shares these symptoms with many other conditions, including nerve damage.