While much critical attention has been devoted by Covid vax critics to the Pfizer shots, the non-mRNA adenovirus vector AstraZeneca jab has its problems too. Research here in London, about a 5,000-hour drive by car in peak hour traffic from my apartment, by the University College London, has found “small but significant” cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), which is a serious neurological disease, where the immune system attacks its own nerves. The research indicated that “the majority or all” of the 121 UK cases of GBS in March to April 2021 were associated with first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered in January, but is not seen with a second dose. US studies have found that there were increased cases of GBS after all adenovirus vector jabs, and this has been observed with non-Covid 19 vaccines in the past, such as the swine flu one. A 2022 study found the incidence in receivers of Johnson & Johnson’s adenovirus vaccines to be 32.4 per 100,000 people within 3 weeks following the vaccine.
“A UK study by University College London has confirmed “small but significant” cases of the serious Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19.
The researchers speculate that “the majority or all” of the 121 UK cases of GBS (pdf) in March to April 2021 were associated with first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine administered in January.
“A similar pattern is not seen with the other vaccines or following a second dose of any vaccine,” said lead author Prof. Michael Lunn on May 30.
The team observed that from January to October 2021, 996 GBS cases were recorded in the national database but with an unusual spike from March to April with about 140 cases per month rather than 100.
To identify whether any or all of these cases were linked to vaccination, the team linked dates of GBS onset to vaccination receipt for every individual and found that 198 GBS cases (20 percent of 966) occurred within six weeks of their first dose of COVID-19 vaccination in England; of these, 176 people had an AstraZeneca vaccination, 21 for Pfizer, and 1 for Moderna.
The researchers found no excess GBS cases associated with mRNA vaccines, but observed 5.8 excess cases of GBS per million doses of vaccine for AstraZeneca, equating to a total excess between January to July 2021 of around 98–140 cases, confirming the association between the vaccine and GBS.
GBS is a rare and serious neurological disorder that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks its own nerves, typically resulting in numbness, weakness, pain in the limbs, and sometimes even paralysis of breathing.
The disease is commonly associated with Campylobacter infections that prompt the body to attack its own nerves.
However, GBS cases were also observed in the 1976 following administration of the swine flu vaccine as well as modern influenza and yellow fever vaccines, though none of them had rates as high as AstraZeneca.
Whilst the majority of the vaccination-associated GBS patients had recovered from symptoms of weak limbs, weak deep tendon reflexes, and monophasic sleep, one patient in the study had recurring neuropathic symptoms well after the second dose.
The patient initially developed facial paralysis on both sides and a tingling sensation in their limbs after the first dose and improved with treatment. However, two weeks after receiving their second dose, they developed increasing weakness with pain, changes in their nerves, and only partial response to the treatment.
Researchers are currently still speculating the reasons behind rises in GBS cases following the vaccine.
“It may be that a non-specific immune activation in susceptible individuals occurs, but if that were the case similar risks might apply to all vaccine types,” said Lunn.
“It is therefore logical to suggest that the simian adenovirus vector, often used to develop vaccines, including AstraZeneca’s, may account for the increased risk.”
Studies in the United States have also confirmed increased cases of GBS after receiving adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccines, with significant cases of the disease associated with the vaccine.
According to the CDC, 1 to 2 people out of 100,000 in the United States develops GBS, however, a 2022 U.S. study found the incidence in receivers of J&J’s adenovirus vaccines to be 32.4 per 100,000 people within 3 weeks following the vaccine; well above the background rate.
A spokeswoman for AstraZeneca told The Epoch Times that “vaccination of any kind is a known risk factor for GBS” and “the small number of GBS cases [following the AstraZeneca vaccine] appears similar to increases previously seen in other mass vaccination campaigns.”
She wrote that reports of GBS have been very rare following vaccination and that “current estimates show that globally the vaccine has helped prevent 50 million COVID-19 cases, five million hospitalizations, and to have saved more than one million lives.
“The Emergency Medical Associates and other international bodies including the WHO, have all stated that the benefits of vaccination continue to outweigh any potential risks.”
So they say, but many disagree as this blog reports daily.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8903477/pdf/awac067.pdf
“Abstract 2 Vaccination against viruses has rarely been associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). A 3 association with the COVID-19 vaccine is unknown. We performed a population-based study of National 4 Health Service data in England and a multicentre surveillance study from UK hospitals, to investigate the 5 relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and GBS. 6 Firstly, case dates of GBS identified retrospectively in the National Immunoglobulin Database from 8 7 December 2021 to 8 July 2021 were linked to receipt dates of a COVID-19 vaccines using data from the 8 National Immunisation Management System in England. For the linked dataset, GBS cases temporally 9 associated with vaccination within a 6-week risk window of any COVID-19 vaccine were identified. 10 Secondly, we prospectively collected incident UK-wide (four nations) GBS cases from 1 January 2021 to 7 11 November 2021 in a separate UK multicentre surveillance database. For this multicentre UK-wide 12 surveillance dataset, we explored phenotypes of reported GBS cases to identify features of COVID-19 13 vaccine-associated GBS. 14 996 GBS cases were recorded in the National Immunoglobulin Database from January to October 2021. 15 A spike of GBS cases above the 2016-2020 average occurred in March-April 2021. 198 GBS cases 16 occurred within 6 weeks of the first-dose COVID-19 vaccination in England (0.618 cases per 100,000 17 vaccinations, 176 ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AstraZeneca), 21 tozinameran (Pfizer), 1 mRNA-1273 (Moderna)). 18 The 6-week excess of GBS (compared to the baseline rate of GBS cases 6-12 weeks after vaccination) 19 occurs with a peak at 24 days post-vaccination; first-doses of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 accounted for the 20 excess. No excess was seen for second-dose vaccination. The absolute number of excess GBS cases from 21 January-July 2021 was between 98-140 cases for first-dose ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination. First-dose 22 tozinameran and second-dose of any vaccination showed no excess GBS risk. Detailed clinical data from 23 121 GBS patients were reported in the separate multicentre surveillance dataset during this timeframe. 24 No phenotypic or demographic differences identified between vaccine-associated and non-vaccinated 25 GBS cases occurring in the same timeframe. 26 Analysis of the linked NID/NIMS dataset suggests that first-dose ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination is 27 associated with an excess GBS risk of 0.576 (95%CI 0.481-0.691) cases per 100,000 doses. However, 28 examination of a multicentre surveillance dataset suggests that no specific clinical features, including 29 facial weakness, are associated with vaccination-related GBS compared to non-vaccinated cases. The 30 pathogenic cause of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 specific first dose link warrants further study.”