Frequent COVID Boosters in Immunocompromised ‘May Be Causing More Harm Than Benefit,’ New Review Suggests
Repeated mRNA COVID-19 vaccination impairs the activation of immune cells that protect the body from infections and cancer.
By: Megan Redshaw
February 12, 2024: Frequent administration of mRNA COVID-19 boosters may impair the immune system response in immune-compromised individuals, raising questions about whether giving multiple vaccine doses is more harmful than beneficial.
According to a narrative review published on Jan. 27 in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, repeated COVID-19 vaccination may increase the likelihood of experiencing SARS-CoV-2 infection and other pathologies. Additionally, receiving multiple doses may result in much higher levels of IgG4 antibodies and impair the activation of white blood cells that help protect the body from infections and cancer.
Immunoglobulins, or antibodies, are proteins made by specialized white blood cells called B cells. Although IgG4 antibodies have a protective effect up to a certain level, a growing body of evidence suggests that abnormally high levels from repeated vaccination may cause IgG4-related disease involving multiorgan inflammation, autoimmune diseases, rapid onset cancers, and autoimmune myocarditis.
“While booster doses have been recommended to enhance and extend immunity, especially in the face of emerging variants, this recommendation is not based on proven efficacy, and the side effects have been neglected,” the paper’s author, scientist Alberto Boretti, wrote.
To determine whether mRNA vaccine boosters impair the immune response in immunocompromised individuals, Mr. Boretti conducted a literature review using the Google Scholar database.
He found very few long-term studies that evaluate the safety and efficacy of repeated booster vaccination in immune-compromised individuals, especially with a continuously evolving virus. Instead, he found evidence that multiple mRNA vaccine boosters impair the activation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. These cells make up the majority of T cells that protect the body by destroying harmful pathogens and helping it respond to infections, allergens, and tumors. CD4+ T cells are especially critical because they activate other immune cells, coordinate the immune response against infections, and help B cells create antibodies.
Impairment of CD4+ T cells can result in reduced antibody production and compromise the body’s ability to mount an effective humoral immune response against pathogens, increasing susceptibility to opportunistic infections caused by pathogens that do not typically cause disease in individuals with healthy immune systems.
CD8+ T cells are vital to cell-mediated immunity because they recognize and eliminate infected or abnormal cells and help prevent excessive inflammation. Impaired activation of CD8+ T cells allows infections or tumor growth to persist.
“The author found mRNA COVID-19 vaccines may result in much higher levels of IgG4 antibodies, or impaired activation of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells—and that the harm of repeated vaccination may outweigh the benefit. Yet, in the U.S., the immune-compromised are the first group to receive additional vaccine doses,” Dr. Craig M. Wax, a physician and health care policy expert told The Epoch Times in an email.
“At this time, given three years of research and clinical experience, these genetic intervention shots should be pulled from the market, as they have failed to establish safety and efficacy. On the contrary, they have not been effective and have caused much morbidity and mortality,” Dr. Wax said.
Studies Show Repeated Doses May Impair Immune Response
A 2023 study published in Vaccines showed that repeated COVID-19 mRNA vaccination increases the level of IgG4, weakening the immune system and potentially making people more susceptible to life-threatening conditions such as cancer.
A February 2022 Lancet study showed the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines progressively waned over time and that vaccinated individuals had lower immune function eight months after receiving their initial two vaccine doses than unvaccinated individuals. These findings were more prominent in older adults and individuals with preexisting conditions.
Some experts are seeing a puzzling rise in aggressive, rapid-onset cancers resistant to treatment following vaccination. One theory is that the shift of IgG4 caused by repeated mRNA vaccination creates a tolerance for spike protein and impairs the production of the antibodies IgG1 and IgG3 and cancer surveillance.
According to the narrative review, other studies have shown that the immune system may be negatively impacted by the persistence of spike protein following vaccination, inflammatory lipid nanoparticles containing modified RNA that travel from the injection site, unintended consequences of spike protein antibodies, and the replacement of uracil in the genetic code with N1-methyl-pseudouridine.
Boosters Recommended Despite Exclusion from Vaccine Trials
Pharmaceutical companies only included healthy individuals in their initial COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, and the only immunocompromised subgroups included in phase 3 vaccine trials were those with chronic, stable HIV infection, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C. Yet immunocompromised individuals were the first group authorized to receive COVID-19 vaccine boosters.
Current CDC guidance recommends that people aged 6 months and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised and received their COVID-19 vaccines before Sept. 12, 2023, receive one or two doses of an updated vaccine, depending on the number they’ve previously received. Before Sept. 12, if an immunocompromised person followed the CDC recommendations, they would have already received at least five vaccine doses.
No clinical trials have shown whether it is safe for the immune-compromised to receive multiple vaccine doses of the newly formulated booster or the potential effects of combining current COVID-19 boosters with previous bivalent and monovalent vaccines.
Dr. Wax told The Epoch Times there is a mentality of “the more, the merrier” when it comes to vaccinating people with compromised immune systems that he believes is primarily financially motivated.
“The immunocompromised do not need an injection that further suppresses their immunity, which is part of the modified mRNA mechanism,” Dr. Wax said. “A Cleveland Clinic Study shows that with each shot, your likelihood of getting COVID-19 increases.”
Dr. Wax said he believes supporting the immune system and early treatment pose far less risk to immune-compromised individuals.
In an email to The Epoch Times, Mr. Boretti said he only had one question: “Have vaccine boosters against SARS-CoV-2 variants of 2024 been rigorously proven for activity and safety in immunocompromised individuals? I am not aware of any data from cancer hospitals proving the benefits of the practice.”
The CDC, Pfizer, and Moderna have not responded to requests for comment.
Source: Epoch Health
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