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in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
Medical validation:
February 02, 2023
According to a new study, the vaccine against the coronavirus could increase the risk of developing a rare neurological disease: Guillain-Barré syndrome. however, the risk remains very low and is not unique to these vaccines.
Are the Janssen, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against Covid-19 associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome? This is the question to which the journal Jama Network Open tried to answer. This syndrome would indeed lead to serious symptoms: damage to the peripheral nerves, causing paralysis of the limbs.
Janssen, Pfizer, Moderna… the 3 vaccines evaluated
In this study of 487,651,785 doses of coronavirus vaccine, researchers looked at the side effects of the Janssen, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
To do this, they compared the reports of participants vaccinated with Ad26.COV2.S (Janssen), BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna) within 21 and 42 days of injection.
Of the 487,651,785 vaccine doses, 17,944,515 (3.7%) of them were manufactured by Janssen, 266,859,784 were produced by Pfizer-BioNTech (54.7%) and the remaining 202,847,486 doses ( 41.6%) were signed Moderna.
Result :
- Within 21 days of vaccination, the reporting rates for Guillain-Barré syndrome per 1,000,000 doses were 3.29 for Janssen injection, 0.29 for Pfizer-BioNTech injection, and 0.35 for Moderna injection.
- In the 42 days following vaccination, they were 4.07 for Janssen injection, 0.34 for Pfizer-BioNTech and 0.44 for Moderna.
Conclusion: Guillain-Barré syndrome was most often reported after administration of the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine (Janssen) within 21 and 42 days of vaccination.
Guillain-Barré syndrome is damage to the peripheral nerves. It often occurs after an infection and is characterized by weakness (slower nerve transmission) or even progressive paralysis. Appropriate treatment must be put in place quickly to limit nerve damage.
A very rare side effect that is not new
A post-vaccination side effect, which is not “new” according to Dr. Kierzerk.
“Following a vaccination, the occurrence of Guillain-Barré syndrome is quite classic, regardless of the type of vaccine. This side effect is known and inevitable, but fortunately rare. Getting vaccinated, in the same way as taking medication, is never trivial: zero risk does not exist. This is why it is essential to target individuals when vaccinating.”