Genomics and COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Events

April 27, 2026 updated by: Bruce Carleton, University of British Columbia

Genomics of COVID-19 Vaccine-induced Adverse Events (Guillain-Barré Syndrome [GBS], Vaccine-induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia [VITT]/Thrombosis With Thrombocytopenia Syndrome [TTS], and Myocarditis/Pericarditis)

Vaccines routinely used are extremely safe; however, severe adverse events to vaccines do occur. As vaccination against COVID-19 has begun, adverse events to the vaccine, particularly Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT)/thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), and myocarditis/pericarditis, after COVID-19 vaccination have been reported worldwide.

Study hypothesis: there are genetic factors that contribute to increased risks of particular COVID-19 vaccine-induced adverse events.

The objective of the study is to determine if there are specific genetic factors strongly associated with each of the COVID-19 vaccine-induced adverse events (i.e., GBS, VITT/TTS, and myocarditis/pericarditis).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Purpose:

Reduce the risk of COVID-19 vaccine-induced adverse events (i.e., GBS, VITT/TTS, and myocarditis/pericarditis) through improved understanding of the biology underlying these severe adverse events and the genetic contribution to their cause

Research Design:

  • Prospective case-control study designs will be performed to investigate the genetic associations of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT)/thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), and myocarditis/pericarditis strongly associated (OR ≥ 3.0) with COVID-19 vaccination.
  • Determined cases of specific COVID-19 vaccine-induced GBS, VITT/TTS, and myocarditis/pericarditis, and vaccinated controls without these adverse events will be included.
  • Saliva DNA samples from eligible adverse event cases and vaccinated controls will be collected.
  • Candidate gene and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) approaches will be conducted.
  • Genomics analyses will be stratified by severity, age, sex, vaccine, and other critical covariates as determined by the GVDN Work Group for each adverse event and as adequately powered analyses allow.
  • To complement GWAS, particularly in protein-coding regions, additional whole-exome sequencing (WES) will be performed on the most severe patients who are categorized as Brighton Collaboration Level One case of COVID-19 vaccine-induced adverse events to identify the most possible disease-causing mutations.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
6325

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • British Columbia
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V5Z 4H4
        • Recruiting
        • British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute
        • Contact:
          • Bruce Carleton, PharmD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

5 years to 99 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Any individual who received a COVID-19 vaccine.

A total of 825 adverse event cases (n=275 each for GBS, VITT/TTS, and myocarditis/pericarditis) and 5,500 vaccine-matched controls (n=2,750 each for mRNA and adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine platforms) will be recruited.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Case: Any patient who received COVID-19 vaccines and developed GBS, VITT/TTS, or myocarditis/pericarditis after vaccination
  • Control: Any participant who received COVID-19 vaccines and does not experience GBS, VITT/TTS, or myocarditis/pericarditis.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine
  • Individuals who are unable to provide informed consent

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Case with COVID-19 vaccine adverse event
Patients with GBS, VITT/TTS, or myocarditis/pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination
Biological: COVID-19 vaccines
Any licensing COVID-19 vaccine platform
Control without COVID-19 vaccine adverse event
Participants without experiencing GBS, VITT/TTS, or myocarditis/pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination
Biological: COVID-19 vaccines
Any licensing COVID-19 vaccine platform

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Determine specific genetic factors associated with particular COVID-19 vaccine-induced Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT)/thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), and myocarditis/pericarditis
Time Frame: December 2025
December 2025

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of British Columbia

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Bruce Carleton, PharmD, University of British Columbia

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 24, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 25, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 25, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 28, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 27, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • H21-03404

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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