O pandemic led to the development of vaccines against Covid-19 at unprecedented speed and scale. Several of them, such as the one made by Oxford / AstraZeneca and BioNTech / Pfizer, are approved for use in several countries and have proven reduce infections, transmissions, hospitalizations and deaths for this disease.
However, rare neurological complications associated with SARS-CoV-2 and vaccination. The communication of these rare adverse effects It is very important for the appreciation of the risk-benefit these vaccines and to guide post-vaccination clinical practice. Therefore, its identification is now a global scientific priority.
The communication of adverse effects is very important to assess the benefit-risk of these vaccines. Therefore, its identification is now a global scientific priority.
To investigate the possibility of an association between vaccines or infection and the development of neurological disorders, researchers from several UK universities examined hospital admissions for neurological complications in patients. next 28 days to a first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech, or to a positive test for SARS-CoV-2.
O study created in 32 million adults in England shows a higher but lower risk of suffering from two rare neurological diseases, Guillain-Barré syndrome and Bell’s Palsy, after the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca. The results are published today in the journal. Nature Medicine.
The authors make it clear that this increased risk is overshadowed by a substantially higher after passing covid-19 for the seven neurological disorders studied. Thus, there were 38 additional cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome for every 10 million people who received Oxford / AstraZeneca, compared with 145 cases for every 10 million after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.
An increased risk of Bell’s palsy was also seen between 15 and 21 days after vaccination; however, this risk was not significant during the 28-day study period. The authors replicated their findings in an independent national cohort of more than three million people from Scotland.
There were 38 additional cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome for every 10 million people who received Oxford / AstraZeneca, compared with 145 cases for every 10 million after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2
For Peter openshaw, Professor of Experimental Medicine at London Imperial College, “The neurological complications of coronavirus vaccines are much rarer than those caused by covid-19, which shows the vital importance of getting vaccinated.”
same opinion Salvador Iborra Martin, immunologist at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), in statements to COVID-19 Vaccine Media Hub: “The findings of the study can serve as a basis for making decisions about how to act in other countries. They allow us to better assess the balance between risk and benefit of these vaccines and more objectively decide on a mass vaccination strategy”.
Minimal risk of stroke
There was also an increased risk of stroke within 28 days of vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, or about 60 additional cases per 10 million people. Penny Ward, professor of pharmaceutical medicine at King’s College London, explains how this increase was observed in the data from England, but was not confirmed in the Scottish sample.
“Furthermore, it was outweighed by the increased risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is most often found after the greedy infection,” he says. “From any perspective, and in particular with the increasing spread of the infection in the community in the UK, unimmunized adults should be vaccinated to reduce their own risk of serious central nervous system effects if infected,” he adds.
Because hemorrhagic stroke was so rare after vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech, the estimate of any increased risk is imprecise. Any possible association needs more independent confirmation.
David werring
According to David werring, from the Institute of Neurology Queen Square UCL, “Since hemorrhagic stroke was so rare after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination, the estimate of any increased risk is inaccurate. Any possible association with intracerebral hemorrhage needs further independent confirmation”.
Study limitations
The authors believe these results will aid clinical decision making and resource allocation for these rare neurological complications. However, they still have some limitations: “It would be useful to replicate the results in datasets of similar size and on an international scale.”
The authors believe these results will aid clinical decision making and resource allocation for these rare neurological complications. However, they still have some limitations.
“Only the appearance of disorders after the first vaccine has been studied, so it is not clear whether these risks increase after a second dose, which would be expected. On the other hand, as only hospital records are considered, less serious disorders or disorders that may arise in people with low health coverage are not evaluated”, adds Iborra Martín.
“The medical history is also not taken into account, so some people may have had previous episodes of some disorders, such as myasthenia”Concludes the Spanish specialist.
Source: SYNC
Rights: Creative Commons.
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