Errors during vaccination are among the leading causes of flu shot-related injuries. Reports of shoulder injuries related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) have been on the rise in recent years; and, in an effort to reverse this trend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have launched an awareness campaign called, “Know the Site and Get it Right.”
With “Know the Site and Get it Right,” the CDC hopes to ensure that all health care providers and staff members who administer vaccines know how to do so correctly. Despite clear and publicly-available protocols for intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous injections, vaccination errors remain alarmingly common. The CDC is hoping to help reduce the number of vaccination-related injuries, including SIRVA, by raising awareness of the proper procedures for vaccine administration.
Proper Vaccination Techniques Reduce the Risk of SIRVA
Vaccine-related shoulder injuries occur when health care providers and staff members fail to follow the clearly-established protocols for vaccine administration. Some of the most common errors include:
- Using a wrong-size needle – Correct needle size is determined by a vaccine recipient’s sex and weight.
- Injecting the vaccine at the wrong site – For the flu shot and other IM injections, the needle should be inserted into the middle of the deltoid muscle below the shoulder.
- Injecting the vaccine too shallow or too deep into the arm – The tip of the needle should penetrate the muscle tissue.
- Inserting the needle at the wrong angle – IM injections should be administered at 90 degrees in order to avoid injuries.
- Administering multiple vaccines too close together – When a patient receives multiple vaccines at once, injections should be at least one inch apart.
Each of these mistakes has the potential to cause a shoulder injury, with multiple mistakes during a single vaccination increasing the patient’s risk of SIRVA.
While it is health care providers’ responsibility to ensure that patients’ vaccines are administered correctly, patients can also help protect themselves by knowing what to expect (and how to help) during their vaccinations. For example, the CDC recommends fully exposing the upper arm if possible (instead of rolling up a sleeve) in order to provide easy access to the proper injection site. The CDC has also published these resources on proper vaccine injection practices for medical professionals and other members of the public:
- Vaccine administration guidelines and site guides (downloadable guides and general information)
- Immunization: You Call the Shots (an e-learning course)
- Intramuscular (IM) Injection: Sites (video)
- Intramuscular Influenza (Flu) Vaccination (infographic)
For vaccine recipients, it is also important to be aware of the symptoms of the various types of SIRVA, as well as the symptoms of other types of vaccine-related injuries and illnesses. To learn more, we encourage you to read: Have You Experienced Pain After a Vaccination?
Speak with National Vaccine Attorney Leah V. Durant
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with SIRVA, you may be entitled to compensation under the federal government’s National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). To learn more in a free and confidential consultation, call 202-775-9200 or contact us online today.