Anti-Vaxxers Are Twisting The COVID Vaccine Side-Effects Study: Here’s The Real Tea

Akiko Iwasaki, an immunobiologist at Yale and primary author of the study, said the findings are far from a final answer on post-vaccination syndrome.

You’ve probably seen some reports floating around about recent research on COVID-19 vaccine side effects. The thing is, many people might’ve gotten the wrong idea about what it all actually means.

First things first—COVID-19 vaccinations have been crucial. They’ve not only helped prevent serious illness and death but also lessened the overall impact of the pandemic and seem to offer protection against long COVID.

However, some individuals have reported experiencing persistent symptoms shortly after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

This condition, known as post-vaccination syndrome (PVS), isn’t yet widely acknowledged by medical authorities, and its biological foundations remain poorly understood.

Research on PVS is still new and unvalidated

Recently, researchers from Yale have begun to describe PVS in a new study, identifying possible immunological abnormalities that set people with PVS apart from others. Although the results are preliminary and need more validation, they could potentially inform ways to assist those who are impacted.

“This work is still in its early stages, and we need to validate these findings. But this is giving us some hope that there may be something that we can use for diagnosis and treatment of PVS down the road,” said Akiko Iwasaki, Sterling Professor of Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and co-senior author of the study.

Some of the most common chronic symptoms of PVS were reported to be exercise intolerance, excessive fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, and dizziness. They are said to develop shortly after vaccination, typically within a day or two, and can become more severe in the days to follow, persisting over time.

“It’s clear that some individuals are experiencing significant challenges after vaccination. Our responsibility as scientists and clinicians is to listen to their experiences, rigorously investigate the underlying causes, and seek ways to help,” said Harlan Krumholz, the Harold H. Hines, Jr. Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at YSM and co-senior author of the study.

What has the study yielded so far?

Data for the study was collected through Yale’s Listen to Immune, Symptom, and Treatment Experiences Now (LISTEN) study, which researchers are using to better understand Long COVID and PVS.

The LISTEN study recorded data from 42 participants who reported symptoms of PVS, and 22 individuals who did not report any PVS symptoms after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination.

Their primary findings include:

1. Immune cell population: Individuals with PVS showed lower immune cell proportions compared to those without. However, researchers have not definitively linked this difference to the symptoms of PVS.
2. Reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV): More than 90% of adults have been infected with EBV, and research found that those with PVS and long Covid experience the reactivation of this virus.
3. High protein spike level: Those afflicted with PVS have a protein spike level that is higher compared to long COVID patients.

Some factors cast doubts over PVS being caused by vaccines

A related article by The New York Times said thousands of people have claimed that COVID-19 vaccines harmed them, but the United States’ fragmented healthcare system complicates the detection of uncommon side effects and has provided little clarity on the range of symptoms people might have experienced after getting a Covid shot.

Regarding the level of protein spikes, Iwasaki said that mRNA itself, which is used in vaccines, was unlikely to be the source of the protein so long after the shots were administered.

“Something else is allowing this sort of late-phase expression of spike protein, and we don’t really know what it is,” she explained.

Additionally, symptoms reported by people with PVS show considerable overlap with those of long Covid after the researchers analysed blood from 134 people with long Covid and 134 healthy controls.

Anti-vaxxers: “Hate to say I told you so”

This new research on PVS, which has now been covered by various media outlets, caught the attention of individuals who believe the COVID-19 vaccines bring adverse long-term side effects to those who have taken them.

Through comments on social media, they described having the effects and symptoms that were mentioned in the ongoing research, and left comments such as “We’ve known this for a long time already” and “I’m glad I didn’t get vaccinated”.

On the other hand, there were a few individuals who said they had not experienced any long-term side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine.

Far from a final answer on PVS

According to Krumholz, PVS may be comparable to illnesses that might result in persistent symptoms via various biochemical pathways.

“One person might develop chronic symptoms due to immune dysregulation, while another experiences lingering effects from viral reactivation.

“We need to map these different pathways carefully to understand what is happening in each case. This work is just beginning, and further studies are essential to guide diagnosis and treatment,” he said.

Moving forward, the researchers want to further validate these findings in a larger group of people.

“This is far from a final answer on PVS,” said Iwasaki.

The researchers also said a deeper understanding of PVS and its drivers could lead to better vaccines that have fewer side effects, effective methods for diagnosing the syndrome, and targets for treatment.

The study underscores the importance of continued research to better understand PVS and its potential links to COVID-19 vaccines. Until more definitive evidence is available, it is crucial to avoid drawing premature conclusions about the causes and implications of PVS.

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