Have cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome been found in people shortly after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?
Rare cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome have been observed in people from 10 to 22 days after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
A U.K. study found four cases. A report from India found seven. Facial weakness was a common symptom in these patients, despite typically arising in less than 20% of GBS cases.
With GBS, immune system damage results in muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis, often after a viral or bacterial infection. In 1976, a swine flu vaccine was confirmed to have increased risk of the disorder.
The AstraZeneca shot is not approved in the U.S. The U.S. alert system has received 279 reports of GBS following COVID-19 vaccinations: 59 after a Johnson & Johnson shot, 97 after the Pfizer-BioNTech shot and 121 after the Moderna shot.
A causal link has not been confirmed; some or all cases could be coincidences. U.S. authorities continue to recommend all the approved vaccines.