Important: VAERS reports alone cannot determine if a vaccine caused an adverse event. Reports may contain incomplete, inaccurate, or unverified information. Correlation does not equal causation.
13,066 adverse event reports (-31% vs 2019)
In 2020, 13,066 adverse event reports were filed for Zoster Live (Zostavax) in VAERS. This represents 9.3% of all 140,312 reports for this vaccine.
Of these reports, 19 mentioned death, 709 involved hospitalization, 636 required ER visits, and 541 reported disability.
Compared to the average of 6,673 reports per year for this vaccine, 2020 was above average (+96%).
High report volume: 13,066 reports in a single year is significant. This typically reflects large-scale vaccination campaigns rather than increased risk per dose. Without knowing total doses administered in 2020, raw report counts cannot indicate safety rates.
This data comes from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), jointly managed by CDC and FDA.