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Abstract
Purpose of Review Vaccination has been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). Amid a global vaccination campaign to stop the spread of COVID-19, fears of GBS can contribute to vaccine hesitancy. We describe 3 cases of GBS in Calgary, Canada, presenting within 2 weeks of receiving the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (COVISHIELD) Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccination and review the available literature.
Recent Findings All 3 patients presented to the hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, within a one-month time frame with GBS. Their clinical courses ranged from mild to severe impairment, all requiring immunomodulatory treatment.
Summary There is currently little evidence to support a causal relationship between vaccination and GBS. Furthermore, there is limited evidence to support recurrent GBS in patients with GBS temporally associated with vaccination. Neurologists should approach discussions with patients regarding GBS after vaccination carefully so as not to misrepresent this relationship and to educate patients that the risk of COVID-19 infection outweighs the small individual risk of a vaccine-associated adverse event.
Footnotes
Funding information and disclosures are provided at the end of the article. Full disclosure form information provided by the authors is available with the full text of this article at Neurology.org/cp.
- Received June 21, 2021.
- Accepted November 24, 2021.
- © 2022 American Academy of Neurology
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- RE: Case Series of Guillain-Barré Syndrome After the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford–AstraZeneca) Vaccine
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