Last checked at 
* EMA reviewing AstraZeneca vaccine for Guillain-Barre
syndrome
* Rare nerve syndrome also linked some vaccinations in past
* EMA also assessing heart inflammation with Pfizer, Moderna
shots
* Studies into possible links to rare blood clots ongoing
(Writes through with new details)
May 7 (Reuters) - Europe's medicines regulator said on
Friday it was reviewing reports of a rare nerve-degenerating
disorder in people who received AstraZeneca's COVID-19
shots, as authorities worldwide aim for transparency over
coronavirus vaccine safety.
As part of a regular review of safety reports for
AstraZeneca's vaccine, Vaxzevria, the safety committee of the
European Medicines Agency (EMA) is analysing data provided by
the company on cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), it said.
The regulator's heightened attention to the rare immune
condition raises new questions about the potential side effects
of COVID-19 vaccines after it found last month that the shots of
AstraZeneca and U.S.-based Johnson & Johnson may have
caused very rare blood clotting cases.
While the EMA has maintained that the benefits of the
Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's cheap and easily transportable vaccine
in fighting the deadly pandemic outweigh any risks, several
European countries have limited use to older age groups or
suspended use altogether.
The regulator has also backed J&J's vaccine.
The EMA said GBS was identified as a possible adverse event
which needed to be specifically monitored during the vaccine's
conditional approval process, adding that it had requested more
detailed data on the cases from AstraZeneca.
RARE CONDITION
GBS is a rare neurological condition in which the body's
immune system attacks the protective coating on nerve fibres.
Most cases follow a bacterial or viral infection.
The condition has also been linked in the past to
vaccinations - most notably to a vaccination campaign during a
swine flu outbreak in the United States in 1976, and decades
later to the vaccine used during the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic.
However, researchers have found the chances of developing
GBS after vaccination are extremely small.
On Friday, the EMA also said it was looking into reports of
heart inflammation with Pfizer-BioNTech's
vaccine, called Comirnaty, and Moderna's shot. It said
there was no indication at present that these cases were due to
the vaccines.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use new mRNA
technology to build immunity.
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention said it had not found a link between heart
inflammation and COVID-19 vaccines.
AstraZeneca, Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Yadarisa Shabong in
Bengaluru, Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Kate Kelland in
London; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli, Bernard Orr and Gareth
Jones)
