I’ve never been a “Shrinking Violet”, here’s my two cents.
I had the Hong Kong flu in 1969 and was the sickest I’ve ever been (i was 23 then). Nothing, absolutely nothing, that I’ve or witnessed during my lifetime, compares to the HELL my niece and her family is experiencing.
I’d rather have the flu than have anyone, child or adult, on a respirator, have 20 plus blood transfusions, and face a lifetime of problems.
There is collateral damage. So far medical insurance is covering the major expenses, but my niece (the mother) is taking much time off work. She hasn’t been fired yet, but that’s a possibility.
My sister, the grandmother, is facing dismissal from her job because of “excessive time off.”
My grandniece doesn’t (can’t) understand what’s happened to her.
Like I said, give me the flu any day of the week instead of GBS.
Every few years, I get a few days of a mild case of flu or whatever and my body fights it off. Then, I seem to be immune to whatever everyone gets for the next few years. It's all in having a strong immune system and being sensible about potential for exposure, I suspect.
Best wishes to your niece and her family.
I hate to sound harsh, but if your niece got GB from a vaccine, then she almost certainly would have gotten GB by getting sick with the live virus.
GB is caused by the immune system reacting against pathogen proteins. The vaccine contains the same proteins as the live pathogen. The most common cause of GB is infection.