Herpetic anterior uveitis following Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine: two case reports

Abstract

PURPOSE: To describe two cases of herpetic anterior uveitis after inoculation of the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine. METHODS: Case 1: a healthy 92-year-old Caucasian woman developed symptomatic unilateral anterior uveitis for 3 days after Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination (Pfizer Inc.). The episode fully resolved with topical and oral antiviral treatment. Case 2: a previously healthy 85-year-old Caucasian woman with left hemicranial signs of herpes zoster infection, associated with herpetic keratouveitis for 3 days after Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination. Treatment with topical antibiotics and both oral and topical antiherpetic medication was administered, and she recovered successfully in 5 weeks. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of eye inflammation in the form of herpetic reactivation after coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination.