THE WOODLANDS, Texas – A Texas teen is now questioning the COVID-19 vaccine after he says he was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder shortly after receiving his first dose, according to a report from News 6 sister station KPRC.
Wyatt McGlaun said he was a previously healthy and busy high schooler who wanted to get the vaccine.
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“I felt it was the right thing to do,” McGlaun told KPRC. “I wanted to travel and enjoy my last summer before college.”
A few weeks after receiving his first shot, he said he got extremely weak and had difficulty walking. Because of that, he was admitted to a hospital in The Woodlands, where he says he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Guillain-Barre “is a rare neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system.”
According to KPRC, the National Institutes of Health reported one case of GBS in an 82-year-old woman, who also got one dose of the vaccine.
One health official told KPRC the disorder is more often caused by a viral or bacterial infection and that he can’t say the vaccine caused the teen’s condition.
“There have been cases seen in people who have received the vaccine but they’re not at any higher rate than people who have not received the vaccine. Guillan-Barre is seen in one-two people per million, per year,” said Dr. Charles Sims, an infectious disease doctor.
He said it could be a coincidence.
The teen and his parents said they’re not trying to deter people from getting the vaccine but they are encouraging others to do their research before deciding to get the shot and if they do, to listen to their bodies after for any possible reactions.