Risk for acute liver injury low after COVID-19 vaccination, more common after infection - Healio

Receiving an mRNA or inactivated COVID-19 vaccine did not increase the risk for acute liver injury, according to a study published in Journal of Hepatology.

The COVID-19 vaccines available in Hong Kong, where the study was conducted, are BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer, BioNTech) and CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech) inactivated vaccine.

Seeking to investigate the risk for ALI after COVID-19 vaccination, Wong and colleagues used vaccination and electronic medical records to identify incidence of ALI within 56 days after first and second doses of the two COVID-19 vaccines.

Among those who received the BNT162b2 vaccine, 307 recipients had ALI after the first vaccine and 521 after the second, equating to 335 and 334 per 100,000 person-years, respectively.

Similarly, 304 recipients had ALI after the first dose of the CoronaVac and 474 after the second, equating to 358 and 403 per 100,000 person-years, respectively.