A healthy man suffered life-threatening inflammation of his brain and spinal cord after just one dose of the Covid vaccine.
The unidentified 60-year-old sought medical help in Paris, France, after suddenly starting to have trouble walking and mental confusion, four weeks after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Brain scans revealed he was suffering from meningoencephalitis — a life-threatening swelling of the brain and tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord — according to doctors who shared the case in a medical journal.
While this condition can be caused by diseases such as infections or blood cancers, analyses of the man's brain tissue revealed no signs of a virus or other disease that could have caused the condition.
This led doctors to believe that the swelling was caused by the Covid vaccine, specifically by an overreaction of the immune system to the injection.
They then diagnosed him with post-vaccine encephalitis — a dangerous swelling of the brain following vaccination.
The man, who experienced two episodes of brain swelling during treatment, was treated with special drugs that suppress the immune system for six months until the symptoms were brought under control.
Doctors reporting the case in the journal JAMA Neurology said the man had recovered almost completely after three years, although he continued to have mild difficulty concentrating.
The patient had shown significant initial improvement after treatment, but returned with the same symptoms after three months, prompting doctors to perform a brain biopsy and put him on a 6-month treatment regimen.
Doctors said the disease's recurrence demonstrated the importance of rapid diagnosis and aggressive, ongoing treatment for such patients.
Encephalitis following Covid vaccines has been reported before.
A 2023 study of 65 patients found that the AstraZeneca vaccine was most associated with this reaction, representing over a third of cases.
The authors of that report noted that it is not yet understood exactly why some patients develop vaccine-induced encephalitis. However, most cases have recovered completely.
While the latest report did not specify when the man received the vaccine, it is possible that this occurred in 2021.
France — like many European countries — suspended and then restricted the use of the British vaccine in early 2021.
This followed reports of a small number of patients experiencing a very rare, but potentially fatal, reaction with blood clots.
This complication, called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia (TSS), is a condition where a person experiences blood clots along with a low platelet count (cells that help blood clot).
This complication — which was not identified in initial safety trials due to its rarity — is now listed as a possible side effect of the vaccine. It is also known as vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia (VITT).
The first cases of VITT linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine were identified in Europe as early as March 2021, just two months after the vaccine began use in the United Kingdom.
However, it took until April for the evidence to be sufficient to begin restricting its use.
Initially, officials banned the vaccine from being given to people under the age of 30. In May 2021, this restriction was expanded to include only those over 40.
Since the vaccine was still effective against Covid, it was considered beneficial for older people who were at higher risk of death or severe consequences from the virus.
Around 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were distributed in the UK in total.
According to official data, at least 81 British citizens have died from complications with blood clots linked to the vaccine, according to the UK's medicines regulatory agency (MHRA).
Another undisclosed number of people have been injured or disabled.
Subsequent vaccination campaigns have minimized the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine and/or replaced it completely with alternative vaccines such as those from Pfizer and Moderna.
Since health authorities have no longer ordered doses of it, this means that the vaccine has effectively been withdrawn from circulation in the UK.
However, despite rare cases of death or injury, the AstraZeneca vaccine is estimated to have saved around 6 million lives worldwide during the Covid pandemic.
According to the latest NHS data, 293 Britons (or their families) have applied for the government scheme to help those injured by vaccines and have had their claims accepted.
However — under the rules of this widely criticised scheme — not everyone will receive the £120,000 compensation.
To benefit from the payment, a survivor must be at least 60% disabled, for example, having lost a limb, a sense (such as sight), or having suffered complete paralysis.
The French man's case comes amid growing concerns about what is now called "post-vaccination syndrome."
This condition has been linked to mRNA vaccines, produced by Pfizer and Moderna, but not AstraZeneca, and is said to cause mental fogginess, dizziness, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and intolerance to physical activity.
Some patients have also shown noticeable biological changes, including changes in immune cells and the presence of coronavirus proteins in the blood, even years after vaccination.
The condition is also said to increase the risk of activating a dormant virus called Epstein-Barr, which can cause flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes and neurological problems.
The full results of this small study have not yet been published and have not been peer-reviewed, and the authors emphasize that the results are "still in development." /GazetaExpress/
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