What are Guillain-Barré symptoms? FDA, CDC warn of rare reaction to J&J COVID vaccine
About 100 people who have received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine have developed a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré Syndrome about two weeks after getting their shot, federal health officials said.
That’s less than 0.001% of the more than 12.8 million does of the vaccine that have been administered in the U.S.
Of the reports, 95 of them were “serious and required hospitalization,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told McClatchy News in an email. One of them has died.
The reactions spurred the FDA to add a warning label to the vaccine’s fact sheet for both health care providers and vaccine recipients. However, the administration says the benefits of vaccination “clearly outweigh the known and potential risks.”
Most cases have occurred in males aged 50 and older, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told McClatchy News in an email, emphasizing that the reactions “are rare, but do likely indicate a small possible risk of this side effect following this vaccine.”
No data exists that show a similar pattern after vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus shots.
In April, federal health officials urged vaccination centers across the country to pause their use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after several women developed blood clots within two weeks of vaccination. That pause has since been lifted and a warning label was added to the shot’s fact sheet.
What is Guillain-Barré syndrome?
Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) is an autoimmune disease that is typically triggered by a viral or bacterial infection, and occasionally by surgery, according to the National Institutes of Health.
In rare cases, vaccinations may bring about the disorder, though the exact reason remains unclear.
In 1976, for example, people who received a specific flu vaccine faced a “small increased risk” of GBS, the CDC said. Ever since, the agency monitors data to stay on top of potential GBS cases each flu season; however, it notes it’s more likely someone will develop the disorder after getting the flu rather than the shot.
One of the most common risk factors for the disorder is infection with the bacteria that causes gastroenteritis (stomach flu), as well as the cytomegalovirus virus and Epstein Barr virus. The CDC says about two thirds of people who get GBS develop it days or weeks after they have been dealing with diarrhea or a lung or sinus illness.
GBS occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. Scientists speculate this reaction is set off during an attempt to fight an infection because some chemicals on certain bacteria and viruses are similar to those found on nerve cells.
The disease is not contagious or inherited and it can affect men and women equally. An estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop GBS each year. About 70% of people recover fully, but some are left with permanent nerve damage.
There is no known cure for GBS, but some therapies can lessen disease severity and shorten recovery time.
What are the symptoms of Guillain-Barré Syndrome?
Because the disorder involves the body’s own attack against healthy nerves, the first symptoms to appear are often tingling sensations in the feet or hands, or pain in the legs or back for children.
But in an unexplained phenomenon, these symptoms typically disappear before the more serious, longer-term ones show up. Those involve muscle weakness on both sides of the body, such as when trying to walk or climb stairs. Weakness is mostly felt in the arms, breathing muscles and face, and typically begins in the upper body and moves its way down.
“These symptoms can increase in intensity over a period of hours, days or weeks until certain muscles cannot be used at all and, when severe, the person is almost totally paralyzed,” the NIH says. “In these cases, the disorder is life-threatening — potentially interfering with breathing and, at times, with blood pressure or heart rate.”
The most intense period of weakness usually occurs within the first two weeks since symptoms begin, but by the third week, 90% “are at their weakest.”
Other symptoms include difficulty seeing, swallowing, speaking or chewing, severe body pain at night, coordination issues, abnormal heart rate, digestion problems or poor bladder control.
The FDA and CDC advise those who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and develop any of these symptoms to seek medical attention right away.
What are the long-term consequences of Guillain-Barré Syndrome?
Health officials warn recovery from GBS can be “slow or incomplete,” the NIH says, lasting a few weeks to a few years.
About 30% of affected people still feel weakness after three years, about 3% may have a relapse of muscle weakness and tingling sensations several years after initial diagnosis and about 15% experience long-term weakness and require walkers, wheelchairs or ankle support for mobility.
This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 9:34 AM with the headline "What are Guillain-Barré symptoms? FDA, CDC warn of rare reaction to J&J COVID vaccine."
