Study: Scientists have discovered new side effects of COVID-19 vaccination

Researchers have discovered two new adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccinations: a neurological disorder and spinal cord inflammation.

Results of the scientists’ work published in Vaccine magazine. Both “side effects” are quite rare, tells The Guardian. Researchers working as part of the Global Vaccine Data Network analyzed electronic health data from more than 99 million people from Australia, Argentina, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, New Zealand and Scotland. This is the largest study on vaccine safety in terms of the number of participants.

In a large-scale study, researchers compared the incidence of 13 brain, blood and heart diseases after receiving the Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines with the likelihood of developing the corresponding diseases before the pandemic. The Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines have been confirmed to be linked to the rare side effects of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis, a swelling of the outer lining of the heart. Another rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine is acute disseminated encephalomyelitis – inflammation and swelling of the brain and spinal cord.

Scientists say the risk of this side effect is 0.78 for every million doses. Researchers have found a link between the vaccine and Guillain-Barré syndrome and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a type of blood clot in the brain. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system damages nerve cells, which can cause pain, numbness and muscle weakness, and then paralysis in severe cases.

Jim Buttery, co-director of the Global Vaccine Data Network, says most people make a full recovery from the disorder. After receiving the results, the scientists decided to conduct a second study, analyzing a separate data set of 6.8 million Australians who received the AstraZeneca vaccine. Batery says:

“It’s impossible to detect rare side effects until the vaccine has been used by millions of people. No clinical trial could be that large.”

Julie Leask, a vaccine expert at the University of Sydney, adds that COVID-19 infection increases the risk of some of these rare conditions “far more than the vaccine”.

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