SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Does Not Increase New-Onset Seizure Risk

TUESDAY, April 30, 2024 (HealthDay News) — There is no risk for new-onset seizure incidence for individuals receiving a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine versus placebo, according to a review published online April 29 in JAMA Neurology.

Ali Rafati, M.D., from Iran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to identify studies examining seizure incidence among SARS-CoV-2 vaccine recipients versus those receiving placebo.

Based on six randomized clinical trials (63,521 vaccine and 54,919 placebo recipients), the researchers found that during a 28-day follow-up after injection, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups (nine events in vaccine recipients [0.014 percent] and one event in placebo recipients [0.002 percent]; odds ratio, 2.70; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.76 to 9.57; P = 0.12). Similarly, when examining the entire blinded-phase period after injection (median >43 days), there were no significant differences identified for incident new-onset seizure (0.03 percent in vaccine recipients and 0.012 percent in placebo recipients; odds ratio, 2.31; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.86 to 3.23; P > 0.99).

“Since the inflammatory response induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection is probably more prolonged and severe than the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, the adverse events would be more prevalent and critical; however, it has to be confirmed by future studies,” the authors write.

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