Two new but exceptionally rare Covid-19 vaccine side effects – a neurological disorder and inflammation of the spinal cord – have been detected by researchers in the largest vaccine safety study to date, reports theguardian.com. But a new rare side-effect, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis – an inflammation and swelling in the brain and spinal cord – was also identified in the data analysis as being linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine. Not only did the Australian study confirm acute disseminated encephalomyelitis as a rare side-effect, but the large amount of AstraZeneca-specific data also allowed them to detect a second new rare side-effect, known as transverse myelitis, or spinal cord inflammation. Prof Julie Leask, a vaccine expert at the University of Sydney, said it’s important to keep these findings in perspective and that a Covid infection increases the risk of some of these rare conditions “much more than a vaccine” does. She said the studies also confirmed that “our vaccine experts are paying attention to when vaccines lead to serious side-effects, and they’re acting on it”.

Source: The Guardian February 23, 2024 05:27 UTC