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Data source: VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)

Data through 2026 · Updated quarterly

Built by TheDataProject.ai · © 2026 VaccineWatch

Important: VAERS accepts reports of adverse events following vaccination. For any given report, there is no certainty that the reported event was caused by the vaccine. Reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. Most reports to VAERS are voluntary, which means they are subject to biases. This data cannot be used to determine if vaccines cause or contribute to adverse events.

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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.

  1. Home
  2. Vaccines
  3. Zoster Live (Zostavax)
  4. Injection site erythema
Zoster Live (Zostavax)×Injection site erythema

Injection site erythema Reports for Zoster Live (Zostavax)

#3 most reported symptom for this vaccine

18,142
Reports
3
Deaths
104
Hospitalizations
0.02
Mortality Rate
%
0.6
Hosp. Rate
%

Injection site erythema and Zoster Live (Zostavax)

Injection site erythema has been reported 18,142 times in association with Zoster Live (Zostavax) vaccination in VAERS. This represents 12.9% of all 140,312 reports for this vaccine.

Among these reports, 3 mentioned death (0.02%) and 104 involved hospitalization (0.6%).

Injection site erythema is the #3 most frequently reported symptom for Zoster Live (Zostavax) out of 2827 total symptoms.

Disclaimer: VAERS reports describe events that occurred after vaccination but do not establish that the vaccine caused the event. Many reported symptoms may be coincidental or related to underlying conditions.

What This Means

Seeing 18,142 reports of Injection site erythema after Zoster Live (Zostavax) vaccination may seem alarming, but context is critical. With 140,312 total reports for this vaccine (representing many millions of doses), Injection site erythema appears in only 12.9% of reports.

The mortality rate among these reports is very low at 0.02%, suggesting most cases are non-fatal.

Important Context

•Association, not causation: These reports show Injection site erythema occurred after vaccination, not that the vaccine caused it.
•Background rates: Injection site erythema may occur naturally at baseline rates in the population, unrelated to vaccination.
•Anyone can report: VAERS accepts reports from anyone — patients, parents, healthcare providers — without requiring medical verification.
•Denominator missing: VAERS counts reports, not rates per dose. Without knowing how many doses were given, raw counts can be misleading. Learn more →

Similarly Ranked Symptoms

Herpes zoster25,286 reportsPain21,018 reportsPyrexia17,849 reportsInjection site pain16,520 reports

Quick Facts

Reports:18,142
Deaths:3
Hospitalizations:104
% of Vaccine:12.9%
Rank:#3 of 2827

Related Pages

Zoster Live (Zostavax) OverviewInjection site erythema (All Vaccines)Why Raw Numbers MisleadTop Symptoms Analysis

Data Source

This data comes from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), jointly managed by CDC and FDA.