The assesment of retina and optic disc vascular structures in people who received CoronaVac vaccine

INTRODUCTION: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus that is responsible for the current coronavirus disease pandemic and the vaccines currently developed are administered to prevent this infection. CoronaVac is a vaccine produced by the inactivated virus method. Ocular side effects such as anterior uveitis, optic neuritis, vision loss, episcleritis, allergic reaction and paracentral acute middle maculopathy have been reported after receiving CoronaVac vaccine. We assume that with this study, we can identify potential changes in posterior segment structures and posterior segment vascular density of people who received CoronaVac vaccine with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) device. MATERIAL METHOD: Forty healthcare professionals who applied to the Health Sciences University Antalya Training and Research Hospital Ophthalmology Clinic for routine eye control were included in the study. The subjects who do not have any systemic condition and would be administered CoronaVac vaccine were chosen to assess. OCTA images of the patients before and within 1 week after vaccination were captured, then retinal and optic disc vascular values, foveal avascular zone (FAZ), choriocapillary blood flow (CBF), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) and retinal thickness were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: Two of the 40 patients had burning and stinging in the eye (5%), two of the 40 patients had redness (5%) and itching (5%) in the eye. 36 patients did not have any ocular symptoms.No statistically significant difference was found in the retinal and optic disc vascular density values, FAZ, CBF, SCT and retinal thickness values ​​of the patients before and after vaccination. CONCLUSION: This is among the first studies in the literature to evaluate the changes in retinal and optic disc vascular values ​​in people who received CoronaVac vaccine. In this study, we observed that CoronaVac vaccine did not effect retinal and optic disc vascular density significantly.