Key result
BNT162b2 vaccination shows no increase in short-term stroke risk across pooled studies.
Why the study?
Does BNT162b2 vaccination increase short-term stroke risk?
Meta-Analysis
Does BNT162b2 vaccination increase short-term stroke risk?
This meta-analysis of self-controlled case series provides reassurance that BNT162b2 vaccination is not associated with an increased short-term risk of stroke.
INTRODUCTION: Whether BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccination increases stroke risk remains a public health concern. This is the first meta-analysis to synthesize self-controlled case series (SCCS)-derived stroke risk estimates specifically for BNT162b2 vaccination. METHODS: PubMed and Embase were searched from inception through 9 May 2026, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Eight eligible SCCS studies were pooled using a random-effects model with restricted maximum likelihood (REML) estimation and the Knapp-Hartung adjustment. RESULTS: = 69.2%), indicating no statistically significant increase in stroke risk. Subgroup analyses showed no evidence of effect modification across continent, risk-window length, dose category, SCCS variant, or age group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide no evidence of increased short-term stroke risk following BNT162b2 vaccination at the population level. The observed heterogeneity appeared to be partly driven by methodological differences rather than true biological variation in vaccine effect.
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Jang et al. (2026) conducted a meta-analysis in Stroke. BNT162b2 vaccination was evaluated on Stroke risk. BNT162b2 vaccination showed no statistically significant increase in short-term stroke risk across 8 pooled self-controlled case series studies.
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