COVID-19 Vaccine Causing Eye Issues? Research Puts Pfizer Jab in Spotlight

The Week, July 21, 2025 : There have been various reports of people claiming to have experienced adverse health effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine shots. However, there are studies that are still ongoing to understand if the vaccine affected people.

One such research from Turkey studied the effect of the Pfizer vaccine shot on the corneal endothelium, which is a single layer of cells that forms the innermost layer of the cornea, the transparent front part of the eye.

As per the study, changes in corneal endothelium occur in the short term after two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. Experts have also called for close monitoring of the endothelium in individuals with a low endothelial count or who have had a corneal graft.

For the purpose of the study, the eyes of 64 patients were evaluated, and the time interval between pre- and post-vaccination examinations was nearly two and a half months. All the patients underwent detailed ophthalmologic examination, after which experts made a conclusion.

The study is published in the journal Ophthalmic Epidemiology. According to Financial Express, the researchers found that while participants didn’t experience any noticeable vision loss, there were some measurable changes in their corneal health. These included a slight thickening of the cornea, a decrease in the number of endothelial cells (which help keep the cornea clear), and changes in cell structure.