Guillain-Barré Syndrome Linked to COVID-19 Vaccine: CDC Study

According to a new study, one of the COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States may cause disruptive syndrome.

Seventy-three cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which causes the immune system to attack parts of the nervous system, were confirmed in adults within 42 days of vaccination with Johnson & Johnson’s shot, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in The February 1 paper.

Based on the average annual rate of the syndrome only 31 cases could be expected.

In the United States, approximately 3,000-6,000 cases of the syndrome can be diagnosed each year.

Several non-COVID vaccines have been linked to Guillain-Barré Syndrome, including the swine flu vaccine.

In 2021, there were more Johnson & Johnson vaccine-related reports than ever before. These reports occurred within months of vaccination authorization. This prompted regulators to investigate. Add more information Information on the observed higher risk in vaccine recipients and providers is available in fact sheets.

For the new paper, researchers started with reports lodged with the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which the CDC co-manages, and worked to verify whether each report was supported by medical records and other data.

They dug into reports of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) from Dec. 14, 2020, through Jan. 28, 2022, following vaccination with the vaccines from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna. These vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA).

Researchers verified 295 cases. Most were looking for mRNA vaccines. However, during the time period under review, many more Moderna or Pfizer vaccines were given.

The researchers identified a higher-than-expected number of cases after the Johnson & Johnson vaccination and a lower-than-expected number of cases for the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines.

They claimed that the findings are a good fit for their purposes. “suggest that Ad26.COV2.S vaccination was associated with GBS and that GBS after BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 may represent background incidence.” Ad26.COV2.S is the trade name of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine. BNT162b2 is the trade name of Pfizer’s vaccine; mRNA-1273 is the trade name of Moderna’s vaccine.

None of these companies replied to our requests for comment.

The study was limited by the lack of dose-specific analyses.

The sources of funding were not included.

The paper could not prove causation but researchers noted the results added to a growing body of research of GBS cases after vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson or AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. Both vaccines use an adenovirus virus vector. AstraZeneca’s vaccine has never been authorized in the United States.

U.S. officials already recommend people not get Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine due to a link to thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or low platelet levels combined with blood clotting. Although it is still approved for administration in the United States, it is not yet available for use.

Since February 2, approximately 18.9 Million doses were administered.

Deaths

Ten people who had GBS following COVID-19 vaccinations died. Four deaths occurred following Pfizer vaccination. Four deaths occurred following Moderna vaccination. Two deaths occurred following Johnson & Johnson vaccination.

Analysing death certificates and other records revealed that GBS was the cause of death in seven cases. “however, there was no epidemiologic evidence to suggest an association between either mRNA vaccine and GBS,” The CDC researchers stated that.

In one of the deaths after Johnson & Johnson’s shot, the deceased began experiencing symptoms of the syndrome 70 days after vaccination. That’s “outside an epidemiologically accepted risk interval to assume an association between vaccination and GBS,” According to the researchers.

The symptoms in the other person who died were only apparent five days after the vaccination.

“Based on the available evidence, it is biologically plausible that Ad26.COV2.S vaccination may have been associated with the death, although definitively establishing such an association is difficult with the available information, and conclusions about causality cannot be made in this observational study,” According to the researchers.

Another recent paper

Researchers in Italy, in a paper released as a preprint on Jan. 19, identified an increased risk of GBS after both the first and second dose of Moderna’s vaccine, as well as after the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Even after subgroup analysis, they did not find an increase in risk due to Johnson & Johnson vaccine or Pfizer vaccine.

Researchers found 287 cases, 17 of which were after Johnson & Johnson vaccination, of GBS following COVID-19 vaccine. The risk of developing GBS was similar to the U.S. study. It was affected by how many doses were administered in Italy during the period being studied (Dec. 27, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021).

The Italian researchers drew from regional healthcare databases and employed a self-controlled Case series Design, which was Use it elsewhere Monitor the safety of vaccines

The study was limited by AIFA, the Italian drug regulator. It did not review clinical records to verify reports.

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