Can vaccines cause chronic arthritis?

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country, it really makes you appreciate all of the vaccines that are available to us on an annual basis. Right now, companies around the world are continuing to work tirelessly on a COVID-19 vaccine.

BioBTech, a company in Germany, just began clinical trials on 200 healthy volunteers in the hopes of making an initial product by the fall of 2020. Sooner rather than later, hopefully, a vaccine will be widely available to Americans.

Until then, all we can do is to do our best to practice social distancing in order to limit the spread of the virus to the most vulnerable.

If and when a COVID-19 vaccine is produced, it will likely have some rare associated side effects, as do other vaccines. The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) has recognized that certain covered vaccines can cause unintended illnesses, injuries, and conditions. These side effects are listed in the Vaccine Injury Table.

The MMR vaccine can cause chronic arthritis

One side effect that we see fairly regularly is chronic arthritis, which can be caused by the Measles, Mumps, & Rubella (MMR) vaccine. The Table defines chronic arthritis as persistent joint swelling with at least two additional manifestations of warmth, tenderness, pain with movement, or limited range of motion. These symptoms must last for at least six months to be classified as a vaccine injury.

Although the Table identifies this condition as “chronic,” there must be an acute reaction to the vaccine. In order to satisfy the criteria of the Table, your symptoms must start between 7 and 42 days after the administration of the vaccine. Those symptoms include joint swelling, warmth, tenderness, pain, and reduced range of motion.

To prove that you suffered chronic arthritis as a result of the MMR vaccine, you must be able to show medical documentation within 30 days after the onset of those symptoms. You can also provide medical documentation within three years of the onset of acute arthritis that has lasted for 6 months.

If you meet these criteria, you are entitled to a presumption that the MMR vaccine caused your condition of chronic arthritis.

Are other vaccines linked to arthritis and inflammation?

Right now, the VICP has only recognized a connection between the MMR vaccine and chronic arthritis. However, there have been other case studies performed on possible connections between cases of arthritis following other vaccinations, including the influenza vaccine.

For cases that are filed with the VICP alleging a vaccine other than MMR caused chronic arthritis, there is a much higher standard of proof. In those cases, you are not afforded the presumption that the vaccine caused your chronic arthritis, as in the case of the MMR vaccine. Instead, you must prove that the vaccine caused your arthritis.

Typically, these cases will be disputed by the government and require a hearing, possibly an expert medical witness. After the Special Master hears all of the evidence and arguments in support of your vaccine injury case, he or she will rule on whether you are entitled to compensation.

Injured by a vaccine? We can help.

If you believe that you were injured by a vaccine, you may be entitled to compensation. To get started on your free case review, you can call us at (312) 578-9501 or leave a message for us at the bottom of this page.