Long Covid or long fax?

in It is supposed to be peer reviewed Point of view In the Australian Journal of General Practice (1) Emeritus Professor of Immunology, Dr. Robert Tyndall disputes that Sars-Cov-2 is the sole cause of long Covid, and explains why coronavirus vaccines could make an important contribution to the disease.

“Because COVID-19 vaccines were approved without long-term safety data and may cause immune dysfunction, it may be premature to assume that prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 is the only common factor in long COVID (2).”

Professor Tindell is also a former Director of the Center for Clinical Virology at the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane, Australia.

he is writing:

1. “There are concerns that vaccination against Covid-19 itself could contribute to long Covid survival, giving rise to the colloquial term ‘Long Vax(x)’” (3).
2. The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 shows pathogenic features and is a potential cause of post-acute symptoms after infection with SARS-CoV-2 or vaccination against COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines use a modified, stable spike protein that can have similar toxic effects to its viral counterpart (3,4).
3. A possible link between COVID-19 vaccination and the incidence of POTS (upright increased heart rate) has been demonstrated in a group of 284,592 individuals vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine, although this was five times lower than the incidence of POTS after Infection with SARS-CoV-2 (5).
4. Several studies have shown an increased risk of myocarditis after vaccination with mRNA encoding the SARS-CoV-2 protein ( 6 – 8 ).
5. mRNA vaccines can lead to increased protein expression in muscle tissue, lymphatic system, cardiac myocytes, and other cells after entry into the circulation (9).
6. Recipients of two or more injections of mRNA vaccines show a class shift to IgG4 antibodies. Abnormally high levels of IgG4 can cause autoimmune diseases, promote cancer growth, autoimmune myocarditis and other IgG4-related diseases (IgG4-RD) in susceptible individuals (10).

The physician group has previously been interested in this aspect of mRNA vaccines.

“There is clear and documented evidence that vaccine boosters exacerbate these and similar symptoms (2,3,11) that occur after vaccination or infection with Covid-19, raising concerns among public health officials. An understanding of the persistence of viral mRNA and viral protein and their cellular pathological effects after vaccination with and without infection is clearly needed. Because COVID-19 vaccines were approved without long-term safety data and can cause immune system dysfunction, it may be premature to assume that prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 is the only common factor in long COVID (2).

The group of doctors has often been concerned with the serious consequences of vaccine spoilage, a topic that has only recently received little attention in the Netherlands.

The doctors' group is calling for more research into the contribution of mRNA coronavirus vaccines to long Covid. In addition, recognizing the harms of vaccines and prioritizing research to improve diagnosis and treatment (12) is a medical and social obligation.

References

1. Tindle R. Long COVID: Those suffering can take heart. Aust J Gen Pract. 2024 Apr;53(4):238-240. doi: 10.31128/AJGP-07-23-6896. PMID: 38575546.
2. Fedorowski A, Sutton R. Autonomic dysfunction and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in post-acute COVID-19 syndrome. Nat Rev Cardiol 2020;20(5):281–82. doi:10.1038/s41569-023-00842-th.
3. Couzin-Frankel J, Vogel G. Vaccines may cause rare and prolonged coronavirus-like symptoms. Science 2020;375(6579):364-66. doi: 10.1126/science.ada0536.
4. Hoelscher N, Procter BC, Winn C, McCullough PA. Clinical approach to post-acute sequelae after COVID-19 infection and vaccination. Curious 2023;15(11):e49204. doi: 10.7759/cureus.49204.
5. Kwan AC, Ebinger JE, Wei J, et al. The clear risks of being diagnosed with orthostatic tachycardia syndrome after COVID-19 vaccination and infection with SARS-CoV-2. Nat Cardiovasc Res 2020;1(12):1187–94. doi:10.1038/s44161-022-00177-8.
6. Rosner CM, Genovese L, Tehrani BN, et al. Myocarditis temporally associated with COVID-19 vaccination. Circulation 2021;144(6):502-505. doi: 10.1161/circulation.121.055891.
7. Krumholz HM, Wu Y, Sawano M, et al. Post-vaccination syndrome: a descriptive analysis of reported symptoms and patients' experiences after vaccination against COVID-19. medRxiv [Preprint] 2023:2023.11.09.23298266. doi: 10.1101/2023.11.09.23298266.
8. The SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain is internalized and promotes protein ISGylation in human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Sci Rep 2023;13(1):21397. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-48084-7.
9. Trougakos IP, Terpos E, Alexopoulos H, et al. Adverse effects of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines: the spike hypothesis. Trends Mol Med 2020;28(7):542–54. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2022.04.007.
10. Uversky VN, Redwan EM, Makis W, Rubio-Casillas A. IgG4 antibodies induced by repeated vaccination may generate immune tolerance to SARS-CoV-2 protein. Vaccines (Basel) 2023;11(5):991. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11050991.
11. Clun R. 'Not anti-vaxxer': Dr. Keren Phelps says she suffered from Covid vaccine injury, calls for more research. Sydney Morning Herald. 20 December 2022. Available at www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/not-anti-vaxxers-dr-kerryn-phhelps-says-she-suffered-covid-vaccine-injury-calls-for-more-research – 20221220-p5c7ry.html [Accessed 27 November 2023].
12. Halma MTG, Bluth C, Marek P, Lowry TA. Strategies for managing diseases associated with spike protein. Microorganisms. 2023 May 17;11(5):1308. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11051308. PMID: 37317282; Company ID: PMC10222799.