UK Lists Nerve Disorder as Rare Side Effect of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Shot

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency last week added the nerve disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) as a very rare side effect of receiving an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The move comes one month after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) required the condition to be added to a list of possible side effects of the AstraZeneca shot. The FDA and EMA have also listed the syndrome as a very rare side effect of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. 

GBS, 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. The syndrome usually affects less than two individuals per million inoculated with flu vaccines.