In April, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was suspended for 10 days by the United States, after serious cases of blood clots in women were identified. In June, its production in Baltimore was compromised, following a “mixture” of components with the formulation of the vaccine AstraZeneca, manufactured in the same place. This time, U.S. health officials are concerned that cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disease, are arising, explains AFP.
Difficulty chewing, swallowing, seeing
Around 42 days after vaccine administration, several patients have declared this polyneuropathy, which causes muscle weakness that has the particularity of increasing and spreading to the whole body in a very short time. It is about an “autoimmune” disease, that is to say that the immune system turns on the body and eventually paralyzes it. It can be fatal if left untreated, but it can be treated. The FDA has called on all people vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson who experience symptoms of the type (difficulty chewing or swallowing, difficulty walking, blurred vision …) to go to a doctor quickly.
What is Guillain-Barré syndrome?
the Guillain-Barré syndrome is an inflammatory disease: the inflammation affects the sheath that coats the fibers of the peripheral nerves. At this point, the system races and attacks the tissues of the body, which is manifested by weakness in the muscles, tingling or even progressive paralysis. It is a reaction of the immune system which, 7 times out of 10, can be triggered by a viral or bacterial infection but also by a vaccination. In the majority of cases, people with Guillain-Barré syndrome recover after 6 months to 1 year.
The benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks
Only 100 cases have been identified out of 12.5 million doses already administered, of which 95 were declared “serious” and one person died. However, the FDA clarified that the rate of patients with this syndrome only slightly exceeded the rate observed each year in the general population. Also, she continues to consider that theThe benefits far outweigh the risks for this product against Covid-19.
In France, latest update on vaccine surveillance, published by the Medicines Agency (ANSM) is reassuring. Since the start of vaccination, 168 cases of adverse effects have been analyzed by the CRPV reporters (Lyon and Grenoble). “The majority of the side effects are not serious, expected and of favorable evolution”. In total, more than 527,000 injections have been performed as of June 24, 2021. “A case of pericarditis, rapidly evolving favorably, has been observed since the start of vaccination with Janssen, details the report. There was no safety signal identified in France over the period with the Janssen vaccine. “
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