Side effects center Lareb received 72 reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) after corona vaccination until October 12, 2022. GBS is a known rare side effect of the corona vaccines from AstraZeneca and Janssen. Based on the reports, no conclusion can be drawn about a possible relationship between GBS and the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccine.
Guillain-Barre syndrome
In Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), the immune system attacks and damages nerves outside the central nervous system. The affected nerves are mainly sensory nerves and nerves that control muscles. The complaints that occur are therefore usually muscle weakness and sensory disorders such as tingling in the legs and arms.
Notifications Lareb
In the majority of the reports, the complaints arose within 6 weeks after vaccination. Of the notifiers, 30 received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (Comirnaty), 8 the Moderna vaccine (Spikevax), 18 the AstraZeneca vaccine (Vaxzevria) and 16 the Janssen vaccine (Jcovden). The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the most commonly used corona vaccine in the Netherlands. The fact that the condition occurred after vaccination does not always mean that the vaccine was the cause.
The number of reports has been compared with how often GBS normally occurs without corona vaccination in the Netherlands. The number of reports for the AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines was higher than expected. For the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccine, the number of reports was comparable to how often GBS occurs without corona vaccination.
It is unknown how GBS develops after vaccination
It may have to do with an autoimmune response to the antigen in a vaccine. Other possible risk factors for GBS include infections or autoimmune conditions.