Experts issue warning that Covid vaccine may trigger deadly brain inflammation - after man was struck down after just one jab
A healthy man was struck by a life-threatening inflammation of his brain and spinal cord after just one dose of a Covid vaccine.
The unnamed 60-year-old sought help from medics in Paris, France after suddenly developing walking problems and mental confusion, four weeks after receiving a dose of AstraZeneca 's Covid jab.
Brain scans revealed he was suffering from meningoencephalitis—a life threatening swelling of the brain and the tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord—according to doctors who shared his tale in a medical journal.
While the condition can be caused by health problems like an infection or blood cancers, analysis of the man's brain tissue showed no signs of any viruses or other disease that could be responsible
This led medics to believe that the man's swelling was caused by his Covid vaccination, specifically his immune system over-reacting to the jab.
They then diagnosed him with postvaccinal encephalitis, dangerous brain swelling following a jab.
The man, who suffered two bouts of brain swelling while in the care of the medical team, was treated with special drugs to suppress his immune system for six months until his symptoms were under control.
Doctors, who reported the case JAMA Neurology, said the man had made an almost full recovery three years after.
However, they noted he continued to suffer from ongoing mild problems with his attention span.
The patient originally showed significant improvement after being treated when he first suffered symptoms four weeks after getting the jab.
However, he returned with the same walking and mental confusion problems three months later which when medics conducted the brain biopsy and put him on six months of medication.
Medics said the relapse showed the importance of sustained drug treatments for such patients as well as 'prompt diagnosis and aggressive treatment'.
Encephalitis after Covid vaccines have been reported before.
A study published in 2023 on 65 patients found AstraZeneca was the most common vaccine brand linked to the reaction, accounting for over a third of cases.
The authors of that report highlighted that what exactly causes vaccine induced encephalitis to occur in some patients is not yet understood.
However, they added that majority of cases have made a full recovery.
While the team behind the most recent report did not specify when the man received the Covid jab it is likely to have been in 2021.
France—alongside many European countries—suspended and then restricted the use of the British designed jab in early 2021.
This followed reports of a small number of patients suffering an extremely rare but potentially deadly blood clotting reaction.
Called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TSS), this is a medical condition where a person suffers blood clots along with a low platelet count. Platelets typically help the blood to clot.
The complication—missed in initial safety trials due to its rarity but now listed as a potential side effect of the jab—has also previously been called vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).
Health officials first identified cases of VITT linked to AstraZeneca's jab in Europe as early as March 2021, just over two months after the vaccine was first deployed in the UK.
However, it wasn't until April that year that evidence became clear enough that the jab started to be restricted.
Officials first stopped dishing out the jab to people under the age of 30. They then expanded this to only people over 40 in May 2021.
As the vaccine still worked against Covid, it was still deemed worth giving to older Britons who were at greater risk of death or injury from falling ill with the virus.
About 50million doses of the AstraZeneca jab were dished out in the UK in total.
Official data shows at least 81 Brits have died from blood clot complications apparently linked to the AstraZeneca jab, according to figures collected by the UK's drug watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
A further unconfirmed number have been injured and/or disabled.
Further Covid vaccine rollouts have either minimised use of the AstraZeneca jab and/or phased it out entirely in favour of alternatives like those made by rival pharma giants Pfizer and Moderna.
With health officials not ordering any more doses, this effectively means the jab has all but been withdrawn in the UK.
While rare reactions to the jab has been linked to deaths and injuries, AstraZeneca's shot is credited with saving some 6million lives globally during the Covid pandemic.
The latest NHS figures show 293 Britons—or their families— have applied to a Government scheme to support the vaccine injured and had their claim the jab caused their health issues accepted.
However—under the rules of the widely criticised scheme—not all will receive the £120,000 compensation offered.
Survivors of jab injuries must be at least 60 per cent disabled by their injuries in order to qualify for a payout—for example losing a limb, a sense like your sight, or suffering complete paralysis.
The case of the French man comes amid growing concern about what has been dubbed 'post-vaccination syndrome'.
Linked to mRNA jabs, those made by the likes of Pfizer and Moderna but not AstraZeneca, the condition appears to cause brain fog, dizziness, tinnitus and exercise intolerance, the researchers reported.
Some sufferers also show distinct biological changes, including differences in immune cells and the presence of coronavirus proteins in their blood, years after taking the shot.
The condition is also said to increase the risk of reawakening a dormant virus called Epstein-Barr, which can cause flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes and nerve issues.
The full results of the small study have not yet been published or peer reviewed, and the authors emphasised the results 'are still a work in progress.'
AstraZeneca's Covid jab timeline
January 2020: Oxford University scientists start working on a Covid vaccine after the World Health Organization declares the spread of the virus a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern'
March 2020: Then Prime Minister Boris announced the first national lockdown. That same month, the Government invests £88million in the development of the Oxford vaccine
April 2020: Alongside AstraZeneca, scientists start the first clinical trials of their new vaccine. This involved 1,000 volunteers in the UK
July 2020: Results from phase two trials of AstraZeneca's jab are published
4 December 2020: Covid jab rollout begins with the Pfizer vaccine. Over-80s and care home workers are given priority
8 December 2020: Phase three trial results of the AstraZeneca's jab are published. These are what health officials will use to approve the jab for use in the UK
30 December 2020: AstraZeneca's jab is approved for emergency use
4 January 2021: First AstraZeneca doses start being dished out. Brian Pinker, 82, is the first person to receive the jab outside of clinical trials
8 January 2021: Frontline NHS staff start being offered vaccines
8 February 2021: Over-70s are called forward
14 February 2021: Roll-out opens up to Brits with underlying heath conditions, as well as the over-65s
28 February 2021: All over-60s are invited for jabs
11 March 2021: European countries start suspending use of the AstraZeneca jab after death of a 60-year-old woman from a blood clot
17 March 2021: Over 50s start being offered Covid jabs in the UK
19 March 2021: Several European countries reverse decision to suspend AstraZeneca jab after initial investigations find no link to reported blood clots
31 March 2021: People living with vulnerable adults are called forward to get a Covid vaccine in the UK, even if they are younger than eligible age groups
7 April 2021: UK restricts the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to over-30s over a small but statistically significant risk of blood clots in younger people
30 April 2021: Over-40s are called forward for Covid jabs
7 May 2021: Restriction of the AstraZeneca vaccine is widened to include over-40s
August 2022: Government sources say they will not order anymore AstraZeneca Covid vaccines instead focuses on mRNA alternatives
March 2023: Dozens of patients and families launch legal action against AstraZeneca due to
April 2023: Widower of a BBC presenter Lisa Shaw who died after having the vaccine said he has 'no alternative' but to sue AstraZeneca
4 August 2023: Anish Tailor, whose wife Alpa died in March 2021 after receiving her first AstraZeneca dose, filed a product liability claim against AstraZeneca at London's High Court. His lawyer says he has nearly 50 other clients who will formally sue AstraZeneca in the coming months
17 August 2023: IT engineer Jamie Scott, who suffered a brain haemorrhage the day after his first AstraZeneca jab starts a legal case against the company. The law firm representing Mr Scott says it represents around 40 other individuals or bereaved families
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