Many people with neurologic disorders are concerned that the COVID-19 vaccine may exacerbate their symptoms or produce debilitating side effects. In general, neurologists assure their patients that the vaccines are as safe for them as for anyone else. In fact, the vaccine is more beneficial to them, because having a neurologic disorder could raise people's risk of getting severely ill, or having their disorders worsen, if they contract COVID-19.
We asked neurologists about any possible vaccinating problems related to five conditions in particular.
Guillain-Barré syndrome
In the 1970s there appeared to be a number of people who developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) after getting the swine flu vaccine—so “it's an understandable fear” among people who have had GBS or the related condition known as chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, says Richard A. Lewis, MD, FAAN, a neurologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “But in the last 40 years,” he adds, “there has been no association of GBS to patients who get vaccines compared with those who do not. I tell my patients that we have not seen any increased risk of GBS occurring after vaccination.”
Parkinson's disease
In March, the Unified Parkinson's Advocacy Council (a group organized by the Michael J. Fox Foundation) sent a letter to the governors of all 50 states, urging them to give patients with Parkinson's disease priority for the COVID-19 vaccine. “People with Parkinson's who contract COVID-19 experience new or worsening Parkinson's symptoms,” the letter stated. “And those who are older and have advancing disease…are at higher risk for more severe COVID-19 infection, including an increased risk of death.”
Multiple sclerosis
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society strongly recommends that all people with multiple sclerosis (MS) get vaccinated. It also suggests that patients consult with their neurologists about possibly adjusting the timing of their MS treatment so it doesn't blunt the effectiveness of the vaccine, as some disease-modifying therapies for MS that suppress the immune system might diminish the effect of the vaccine. When the vaccines first became available, the MS clinic at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was inundated with calls from patients, says neurologist Nancy L. Sicotte, MD, FAAN, chair of the vaccine task force at the National MS Society. “But the more people get vaccinated, the more other people see that it's safe and effective,” she says. “We've seen how well these vaccines work. In December and January, Los Angeles County had 16,000 new cases per day. As of April, we have about 400 a day.”
Epilepsy
“The vaccines won't make seizure disorders worse,” says Greg K. Bergey, MD, FAAN, director of the Johns Hopkins Epilepsy Center in Baltimore. “Patients can feel confident about getting any of the vaccines. They will not interact with antiseizure medications.”
Migraine
Headaches are one of the most common side effects following vaccination (along with tenderness at the injection site and fatigue), but they are only temporary. Even so, many patients have concerns, says Jose H. Posas, MD, FAAN, a neurologist at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, who specializes in the treatment of migraine, concussion, and headaches. “I tell them that getting COVID-19 is much more likely to worsen headaches and migraines than the vaccines ever will be,” Dr. Posas says.
Read More
