9 June 2021 — Swiss Policy Research

Updated

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an auto-immune neurological disease that causes muscle weakness and paralysis, usually starting in the feet and hands, with about 20% of people still unable to walk at 6 months, and a global fatality rate of about 5%.

Back in 1976, a few hundred cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome triggered the stop of the US ‘warp speed’ swine flu vaccination campaign. Watch the excellent 1979 CBS report (15 minutes) about this episode or read the September 2020 New York Times piece about it.

Early reports of GBS after covid vaccinations were first ignored (‘no causality’) and then described as ‘extremely rare’. However, a quick search of publicly available case reports indicates that in the US alone, there may already be dozens, or even hundreds, of confirmed cases of post-vaccination GBS, both after mRNA and adenovector vaccines.

As with other serious vaccine adverse events, GBS may affect young and healthy people at low risk of severe covid. The case of a Nashville mother of three was recently covered by a local TV station. Both health authorities and people at low risk of severe covid may want to carefully examine the evidence concerning GBS and other non-trivial potential covid vaccine adverse events.

Case reports: Covid Vaccine Injuries (Telegram Web, 18+)

Update: On June 10, the German Paul Ehrlich Institute confirmed that GBS occurred “at an increased rate” after AstraZeneca vaccinations and might constitute a “new risk signal”.

How covid vaccines got approved: The US FDA vaccine advisory committee

Read more: Hearing Without Listening: At FDA hearing on coronavirus vaccine, the chair cut off questions and limited debate. (The Defender, 18 December 2020)