• COVID-19
• functional neurological disorder

Due to the dramatic spread of COVID-19, public health measures and a campaign of widespread distribution of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are among the most important priorities for many governments worldwide. Attitudes of people towards vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 can be basically split into three major categories. A first category includes people (60%–80% of the population) who are convinced that the benefits of vaccination outweigh its risks. A second category of people include irreducible anti-vaxxers, who have not changed their opinion even during the COVID-19 pandemic. A third group of people understand the advantages of vaccination, but are still undecided about undergoing vaccination. In the era of COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals have also to deal with the ‘infodemic’ challenge, a term coined by the WHO to refer to the ‘overabundance of information—some accurate and some not—that occurs during an epidemic’. Misinformation in social media and conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 pandemic are now enriched by the theories of anti-vaccine movements, in keeping with the notion that online false news stories spread more rapidly than true news.

Among the various adverse events which might observed after COVID-19 vaccination, the occurrence of functional—once called psychogenic—neurological disorders (FNDs) might be a challenging issue for healthcare providers, media and public opinion with a negative impact on vaccination campaigns. In fact, in the past few months, as the vaccination campaign against …