Launching VaccineWatch: 1.98 Million VAERS Reports, Exposed and Explained

Today we're launching VaccineWatch — a free, transparent platform for exploring vaccine adverse event data from the CDC/FDA's VAERS database. 1,983,260 reports spanning 35 years, 104 vaccines, and 500+ symptoms — all searchable, all contextualized, all open to everyone.

Why We Built This

VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) is the nation's early warning system for vaccine safety. The raw data is publicly available, but it's notoriously difficult to access, understand, and interpret correctly. Existing tools are either outdated, academically hostile, or lack the context needed to understand what the numbers actually mean.

VaccineWatch fills that gap. We're neither pro-vaccine nor anti-vaccine — we're pro-transparency. Our goal is to make vaccine safety data accessible, understandable, and properly contextualized so researchers, journalists, and the public can make informed decisions.

What's Inside

VaccineWatch processes every VAERS report from 1990 through February 2026:

1,983,260 total adverse event reports
104 vaccine types tracked
500+ symptom categories
27,732 death reports (with extensive context on what this means)
143,653 hospitalization reports
65 jurisdictions (all 50 states + territories)
46 manufacturers

What Makes VaccineWatch Different

There are other VAERS tools out there. Here's what sets VaccineWatch apart:

Reporting Rate Calculator. The single most important context missing from raw VAERS numbers — how many adverse events per million doses administered. We combine VAERS data with CDC dose estimates for 16 vaccine types. No other public VAERS tool offers this.

Signal Detection Dashboard. FDA-style Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR) analysis across all 1.98M reports. We detected 5,225 safety signals — and the analysis validates known signals like myocarditis after mRNA vaccines and intussusception after rotavirus vaccines.

Context everywhere. Every data page includes disclaimers, methodology notes, and explanations of what VAERS data can and cannot tell you. We lead with The Denominator Problem — the most critical limitation most people miss.

15 interactive tools. From onset timing calculators to lot number lookups, dose comparison tools, age explorers, and severity profiles — all built to help users explore the data responsibly.

23 Original Analysis Articles

VaccineWatch isn't just a database — it's a platform for data-driven health journalism:

The Denominator Problem — Why raw VAERS numbers are meaningless without dose context
The COVID-19 Impact — How the pandemic changed vaccine reporting forever
Myocarditis Deep Dive — The confirmed signal, who's at risk, and what outcomes look like
Death Reports in Context — What 27,732 death reports actually mean
Reporting Bias — Understanding the limitations of voluntary reporting

14 Vaccine Side Effects Guides

Dedicated pages for the most-searched vaccines — COVID-19, Flu, MMR, HPV, Shingles, and more — each with VAERS data breakdowns, manufacturer comparisons, and medical context.

Free and Open

VaccineWatch has no paywall, no login requirement, and no ads. The data comes directly from the CDC/FDA VAERS public data files and is updated quarterly. We believe transparent access to vaccine safety data shouldn't cost anything.

Explore VaccineWatch

Visit vaccinewatch.org to explore vaccines, symptoms, and safety signals — or start with our analysis articles to see what the data reveals. VaccineWatch is part of the TheDataProject.AI family of free public data platforms.