October 25, 2021

Study looking at COVID-19 vaccines, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and rare neurological complications

Scientists undertook a self-controlled case series to investigate the risk of developing neurological complications within 28 days of a first dose of either the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BNT162b2 mRNA vaccines, or within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 PCR test.

This study included data from 32 million people across England, and also looked at a national cohort of more than three million people from Scotland, and is coming from the same group of scientists who had used this dataset to report previously on COVID-19 vaccines and rare blood clotting events (https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/update-on-research-into-vaccines-covid-19-and-blood-clotting-events/).

The study has published in Nature Medicine. Journalists dialled in to this press briefing to hear from the scientists who carried out the research.

Speakers included:

Prof Julia Hippisley-Cox, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and General Practice at the University of Oxford

Prof Aziz Sheikh, Professor of Primary Care Research & Development and Director of the Usher Institute at The University of Edinburgh

Dr Lahiru Handunnetthi, Clinical Lecturer in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford

Dr Martina Patone, Statistician at the University of Oxford

Prof Carol Coupland, Professor of Medical Statistics in Primary Care, University of Nottingham; and senior researcher, University of Oxford

This Briefing was accompanied by an SMC Roundup of Comments.