On Oct. 6, 2022, researchers in Japan released a study that described the development and application of the Vaccine Effectiveness, Networking, and Universal Safety (VENUS) to facilitate assessments of the causal relationships between vaccines and adverse events.

The database was created using data from approximately 1.12 million individuals in 7 municipalities between 2013 and 2020. The scientists obtained information on 17 vaccine types, including the pneumococcal vaccine and influenza vaccine. The pilot study analyzed 48,723 vaccinated persons matched with 48,723 unvaccinated persons. The only adverse event that occurred in both groups was Bell’s palsy, which had an adjusted incidence rate ratio of 1.21 (95 % confidence interval: 0.48-3.07).

The VENUS Study was Japan’s first healthcare data platform that enables comparative assessments of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons in large samples covering all age groups. Efforts were underway to increase the number of participating municipalities and to generate evidence on vaccine effectiveness and safety.