Health alert for RSV jab

There’s a new health alert for the RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine, which is routinely offered to the over-75s.

It can cause Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), the nerve disorder that can sometimes be fatal, the UK’s drug regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has announced.

The RSV joins a growing list of vaccines—including the Covid, seasonal flu, and polio jabs—that can cause GBS.

Doctors have been told to let patients know of the possible risk from either of the two RSV vaccines, Abrysvo, made by Pfizer, and GSK’s Arexvy.

GBS affects the peripheral nervous system, and symptoms usually start in the limbs and include tingling, numbness, or pins and needles in the feet and hands, followed by muscle weakness and difficulty moving joints.   In more serious cases, people can experience shooting nerve pain, often in the legs or back; breathing difficulties; drooping facial muscles; problems with swallowing or speech; and double vision. Some may develop paralysis in the legs, arms, or face.   In rare cases, it can be fatal.

Serious cases can require several months of hospital care, and it is sometimes treated with immunotherapy.

The MHRA warning follows a study by its US equivalent, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), that discovered 95 cases of GBS had occurred in a group of 3.23 million people who had received one of the vaccines.

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