U.S. public health officials warned Monday that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against COVID-19 may cause an increased risk of an ultra-rare auto-immune disorder.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said about 100 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, have been identified among the nearly 13 million Americans who have been given the J&J vaccine.
That’s about three to five times the number of cases that would be expected in the general population.
“The results do likely indicate a small possible risk of this side effect,” the CDC said in a statement.
Most of the cases were identified in men over 50 years old. Guillain-Barre syndrome is generally treatable but can cause paralysis or death in rare and severe cases.
Officials still insist the J&J vaccine, like other vaccines, is widely safe and effective.
But the Food and Drug Administration is expected to issue a warning about Guillain-Barré syndrome for those taking the single-shot vaccine, which has not been as widely used in the U.S. due to unrelated production woes.
The J&J vaccine has also been tied to rare cases of blood clots and stroke-like illnesses in some patients, most of whom are younger women.
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