The US Food and Drug Administration has updated the label of the Johnson & Johnson SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to include a warning that it is linked to an increased risk of a rare neurological condition, the Verge reports.
NPR adds that about 12 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the US and there have been 100 reports of people developing Guillain-Barré syndrome. The condition, which the Verge notes has been linked to other vaccines in the past, is marked by numbness in the extremities that can lead to paralysis, though most people recover. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most cases of Guillain-Barré following inoculation involved men over the age of 50, NPR adds.
"It appears that this is an extremely rare occurrence and one in which the risk-benefit ratio still strongly favors the vaccine," Amesh Adalja from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security tells the Huffington Post.
The vaccine factsheet now notes the increased, but still low risk of developing the condition.
The Verge notes this is the second health risk linked to the J&J vaccine, as it is also associated with an increased risk of a rare blood clotting disorder.