After a rough roll-out and having already garnered one warning pertaining to the frequency of blood clots in younger recipients, the Johnson & Johnson covid vaccine is now going to feature yet another warning to consumers – buyer beware of Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a type of auto-immune disorder that causes the immune cells in the body to target and destroy parts of the nervous system, which can lead to paralysis and even organ failure. Roughly 100 reported cases have been recorded among the nearly 13 million doses administered. Guillain-Barré Syndrome, divorced from the context of vaccination, typically appears at a rate between 60-120 cases a week following viral infection after an apparent overreaction of the immune system. The exact cause of this overreaction is not yet understood.
While the percentage of those that seem to have come down with GBS is well below even 1% of 1%, the FDA isn’t taking any chances in this case. The consistent pattern of men in their 50s afflicted with this debilitating syndrome within weeks of receiving the Johnson & Johnson has warranted yet another damning advisory to those considering this brand of the jab.
Insistence upon the absolute safety and effectiveness of covid vaccines – or any other vaccine or other medication for that matter – is simply not a guarantee that can be made if an individual’s own specific biology and varying medical needs are being considered. Public officials, celebrity endorsers, and scientifically illiterate social media personalities are not your doctor. Vaccination is your business and a decision that can and must remain a private medical matter between doctor and patient. There are those who are unable to even be vaccinated who have been subject to overt discrimination (as well as those making the individual choice to simply not be vaccinated) and denied entry to certain events and locations. The endemic nature of covid has called the necessity of government coordinated vaccine efforts into question, as new and resistant variants have appeared.