Claim: Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is associated with 17 vaccines, including COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.

Fact check: A study published in Scientific Reports in October 2024 analyzed reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome in the World Health Organization global pharmacovigilance database, VigiBase. The researchers examined 19 vaccines and reported potential associations with GBS for 17 of them, including influenza and several COVID-19 vaccine platforms.

However, the wording requires important context. VigiBase contains reports of suspected adverse events and is not designed to establish that a vaccine caused the reported condition. A statistical association or safety signal in a pharmacovigilance database is not equivalent to a confirmed causal relationship.

Independent evidence also differs by vaccine platform. A 2024 evidence review by the National Academies concluded that the evidence favors rejecting a causal relationship between GBS and the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine and the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine, while concluding that the evidence favors accepting a causal relationship between the adenovirus-vector vaccine Ad26.COV2.S.

Therefore, the underlying study did identify potential associations between GBS reports and 17 of the 19 vaccines examined, but presenting this as proof that 17 vaccines cause Guillain-Barré syndrome would overstate what the evidence establishes.