Now, Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Linked To Rare Neurological Disorder

New Delhi: A rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome have been found in 11 individuals who had received the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the two studies by clinicians in India and England, published in the Annals of Neurology, this unusual variant of the syndrome is characterised by prominent facial weakness.

Seven such cases have been reported from a regional medical centre in Kerala, India, within two weeks of them being administrated the first dose of this vaccine, which is being produced and distributed in India as Covishield by Serum Institute of India (SII).

“Six out of the seven patients progressed to areflexic quadriplegia and required mechanical ventilatory support,” Boby Varkey Maramattom, from the Department of Neurology, Aster Medcity, Kochi, was quoted as saying by IANS.

“The frequency of GBS was 1.4 to 10 fold higher than that expected in this period for a population of this magnitude. In addition, the frequency of bilateral facial weakness, which typically occurs in less than 20 per cent of GBS cases, suggests a pattern associated with the vaccination,” he added.

Similarly, four cases were reported from Nottingham, England, within three weeks of vaccination.

The British drugmaker’s COVID-19 vaccine was earlier hit by the ban on its use in some European nations after reports that some people who got a dose developed blood clots.

According to an analysis of postvaccination events in Scotland, this vaccine slightly increases the risk of blood clotting and low platelets.

The UK’s Medicine and Healthcare products and Regulatory Agency have so far reported 379 cases of low platelet and blood clotting events, Medical News Today report said.

In February, the UK’s medicines regulator, however, has described the first safety data related to COVID-19 vaccines as “reassuring,” with most side effects reported being mild and in line with those seen with other types of vaccine.

In April, EMA’s safety committee (PRAC) had concluded that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effects of the vaccine.