Musculoskeletal Sequelae following COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination: A Case Report

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 is among the most deleterious pandemics the world has ever faced. With millions of people now having received the unprecedented COVID-19 vaccines and many millions yet to receive it, it becomes imperative to determine the side effect profile of these vaccines. CASE REPORT: Herein, we present a case in which a patient developed inflammatory fasciitis of the shoulder girdle and sternoclavicular joint inflammation requiring hospital admission following COVID-19 vaccination. The patient is a South Asian male of Indian origin residing in the United States. CONCLUSION: Our report aims to share the scenario in which a patient developed severe pain, muscle spasms, inflammatory fasciitis in the shoulder and inflammation in the SC joint in the post-vaccination setting following the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. To our knowledge, this is the first such reported case, and therefore this contribution of the presentation and pathogenesis of this orthopaedic complication may provide further information regarding clinically adverse effects from this nascent immunological advancement.