WHO Finds Guillain-Barré Syndrome Cases Rare in Adenovirus-Based COVID-19 Vaccines

A World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 expert panel noted that cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome are extremely rare following vaccinations with adenovirus-based vaccines and that the syndrome can have other causes, including infections.

The rare syndrome, which has been associated with seasonal flu vaccines for decades, affects the body’s immune system and damages nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and in some cases paralysis. For flu vaccines, the syndrome generally affects less than two individuals per million vaccinated.

Both the FDA and EMA have listed the condition as a very rare possible side effect of inoculations with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. And the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has warned of a possible link between AstraZeneca’s vaccine and the condition.