Second death from rare syndrome following Covid vaccine

Cape Town - A second fatal case of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) has been reported following vaccination with Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J’s) Janssen Covid-19 vaccine.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) on Monday said it was recently informed of the second death as a result of GBS.

“On the 4th of August 2022, SAHPRA issued a media statement relating to the first fatal case of GBS following vaccination with Covid-19 vaccine Janssen. Recently, SAHPRA has been informed of a second fatal case of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following vaccination with the Covid-19 vaccine Janssen.

“Causality assessment of the reported case was conducted by the National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee using the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) methodology. The case was classified as a vaccine product-related event following investigations conducted and causality assessment,” SAHPRA said.

The events reported in the vaccine recipient were consistent with the case definition of GBS and no other likely cause of GBS was identified at the time of illness.

“As previously communicated, GBS is a very rare but potentially severe neurological adverse event that is associated with the administration of various vaccines and other medicines and can also be triggered by some bacterial or viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2,” SAHPRA said.

Symptoms of GBS range from mild to severe, and may include muscle weakness, muscle pain, numbness, and tingling.

In many cases, GBS resolves with no serious after-effects, but in some cases GBS can cause serious or life-threatening problems.

“Regulatory authorities have previously investigated reports of GBS associated with Covid-19 vaccines. They concluded that Covid-19 vaccine Janssen may increase the risk of GBS. GBS is therefore listed as a rare adverse event in the professional information (PI) for Covid-19 vaccine Janssen.

“Investigations and causality assessment of all reported severe adverse event following immunization with the Covid-19 vaccine Janssen and other Covid-19 vaccines are ongoing. The outcomes of these investigations and causality assessments will be shared with the public as soon as they are completed.”

Cape Times