Overview of transverse myelitis after COVID-19 vaccination
Until January 16th 2023 the Netherlands Pharmacovigilance Centre Lareb received 48 reports of transverse myelitis (TM) following COVID-19 vaccination. TM is labeled as a rare side effect of the COVID-19 vaccines of AstraZeneca and Janssen. Based on the reports, no conclusion can be made about a possible relationship between TM and the other COVID-19 vaccines.
Transverse myelitis (TM) is a rare neuro-immune spinal cord disorder presenting with acute onset of weakness, sensory alterations, and bladder or bowel dysfunction. It can occur independently or it can be part of other neuro-inflammatory disorders. TM can also develop after a COVID-19 infection. It is unknown how TM develops after vaccination.
Lareb reports
In two third of the reports TM occurred within 28 days after vaccination. The reporters received:
- 24 times the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (Comirnaty)
- 7 times the Moderna vaccine (Spikevax)
- 12 times the AstraZeneca vaccine (Vaxzevria)
- 5 times the Janssen vaccine (Jcovden)
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the most used COVID-19 vaccine in the Netherlands. The fact that TM occurred after vaccination does not always imply that the vaccine was the cause.
Number of reports higher than expected with AstraZeneca or Janssen vaccination
The total number of reports received is compared to the background incidence rates of TM. For the AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccine, the number of reports was higher than expected based on the background incidence rates. This is not clear for the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccine. No conclusion can be drawn about the relationship of TM and the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccine.