The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is a non-profit, educational organization founded in 1982 by parents of vaccine-injured children and located in Vienna, Virginia. Our goal is to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and to protect the informed consent rights of all Americans.
We are not a federal or state government agency. As a consumer vaccine safety advocacy organization, we worked on the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 and were responsible for urging the creation of safety provisions in that historic law. This included a centralized vaccine reaction reporting system, called the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) that is jointly operated by the federal Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control.
Although it has been the law since 1986 for doctors and other vaccine providers to report hospitalizations, injuries, deaths and serious health problems following vaccination to VAERS, it is estimated that less than 10 percent, perhaps less than one percent of all vaccine-related health problems are ever reported to VAERS. It is very important that ALL serious health problems, which develop after vaccination, be reported to the federal health authorities at VAERS.
As a society we need to know how many people who get vaccinated are getting sick after vaccination and how many go on to die or are permanently injured. In addition, information provided to VAERS may also help identify common factors, which affect certain individuals who have adverse responses to vaccination. More information can lead to safer vaccines, safer vaccine policies and medical research to develop screening techniques to help reduce vaccine reactions.
You should make a vaccine adverse event report to VAERS if you or your child has regressed physically, mentally or emotionally after vaccination or has experienced acute symptoms within hours, days or weeks of vaccination. Some of these symptoms include:
- Pronounced swelling, redness, heat or hardness at the site of the injection;
- Body rash or hives;
- Shock/collapse;
- High pitched screaming or persistent crying for hours;
- Extreme sleepiness or long periods of unresponsiveness;
- High fever (over 103 F)
- Twitching or jerking of the body, arm, leg or head;
- Crossing of eyes;
- Weakness or paralysis of any part of the body;
- Loss of eye contact or awareness or social withdrawal;
- Loss of ability to roll over, sit up or stand up;
- Vision or hearing loss;
- Restlessness, hyperactivity or inability to concentrate;
- Sleep disturbances that change wake/sleep pattern;
- Head banging or onset of repetitive movements (flapping, rubbing, rocking, spinning);
- Joint pain;
- Muscle weakness;
- Disabling fatigue;
- Loss of memory;
- Onset of chronic ear or respiratory infections;
- Violent or persistent diarrhea or chronic constipation;
- Breathing problems (asthma);
- Excessive bleeding (thrombocytopenia) or anemia.
There are other symptoms, which may indicate that you or your child has suffered a vaccine reaction. Not all symptoms that occur following vaccination are caused by a vaccine, but it cannot be automatically concluded that symptoms which do occur are NOT related to the vaccine. Therefore, it is important for your doctor to report ANY serious symptoms or dramatic change in physical, mental or emotional behavior that does occur following vaccination so federal health authorities have the information for analysis.
Since its’ founding in 1982, the National Vaccine Information Center has operated a Vaccine Reaction Registry which has served as a watchdog on the VAERS system. We encourage you to also register you or your child’s suspected vaccine reaction in NVIC’s Vaccine Reaction Registry.
If your doctor will not report a serious health problem you or your child suffers following vaccination, you have the right to report.a suspected vaccine reaction to the federal government.
Thank you for taking the time to report to both the federal VAERS system as well as NVIC’s Vaccine Reaction Registry. Reporting vaccine reactions is the law but it is also a way to generate information that will help reduce vaccine risks for everyone.
Other Information: There is a wealth of information on this website and also through our links. We hope you will become a member of the National Vaccine Information Center and also get involved. by checking out our Resources.
If you would like to get involved in the vaccine safety movement in Texas, please contact Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Information.
For contact information in other states click on Some others states with advocacy sites are located in NVIC's Resources — see State Vaccine Choice Advocacy
If you would like to investigate the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, please click here.