Acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to COVID-19 mRNA vaccine administration in a pregnant woman: A case report

Abstract

Healthcare professionals monitoring vaccine-related adverse responses should be aware of COVID-19 vaccine-related acute respiratory distress syndrome to enable expeditious diagnosis and treatment. We report the first case of acute respiratory distress syndrome in a young pregnant woman, occurring immediately after a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT16B2b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and requiring a brief period of mechanical ventilation, with a good response to a two-week steroid course. She had recovered from mild COVID-19 infection requiring home isolation nine months prior to the current vaccination dose. Without depreciating the colossal benefit of the COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine-related acute respiratory distress syndrome should be listed as a possible adverse reaction.

A Systematic Review of Autopsy Findings in Deaths after COVID-19 Vaccination

“…A significant proportion of cases were due to hematological system adverse events, which is not surprising given that VITT 62 and pulmonary embolism (PE) 63 have been reported in the literature as serious adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. Deaths caused by adverse effects to the respiratory system were also relatively common in our review, a finding that is in line with the possibility of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or drug-induced interstitial lung disease (DIILD) after COVID-19 vaccination 64,65 . Although uncommon among cases in this study, immunological 66 , neurological 67 , and gastrointestinal 68 adverse events can still occur after COVID-19 vaccination and, as with the cardiovascular system, may be directly or indirectly caused by the systemic expression or circulation of SP.…”