Review: "BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccination in children alters cytokine responses to heterologous pathogens and Toll-like receptor agonists" (2023)
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TL;DR: Transfecting 5-11 year olds led to increased cytokine responses to spike protein at the expense of resistance to other pathogens including bacteria, fungi or viruses. There was a significant number of breakthrough infections in spite of this.
These effects persisted for at least 6 months in many individuals, with some improvement to antibacterial immunity but not for non-SARS-CoV-2 antiviral immunity. Immune response to the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans increased over baseline (ie evidence of remodelling) and there were markers associated with class switching, but IgG4 levels were not assessed.
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Contents
Alternatives to “reverse vaccination”
Introduction
This review follows on nicely from “Safe and effective? What you are not being told about influenza vaccination” where the effects of childhood influenza vaccines on immune response were also considered:
https://doorlesscarp953.substack.com/p/safe-and-effective-what-you-are-not
As a reminder, CD8+ T “foot soldier” responses were impaired when compared to healthy controls, which in turn has a negative impact on responses to a range of infections:
But instead of the effects influenza vaccination on children, synthetic anti SARS-CoV-2 mRNA transfection will be discussed. This research would have been more useful for providing informed consent to parents before allowing administration of an experimental gene therapy rather than after, but here we are.
“Better late than never” you might say.
BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccination in children alters cytokine responses to heterologous pathogens and Toll-like receptor agonists
This was published by Noé et al in Frontiers in Immunology on 25th August ‘23.
I often like to read the Conflict of Interest (CoI) declaration first, although all research papers should be objective, accurate, unbiased and repeatable.
These are all biotechs, Novartis is a bit of a red flag.
Emphasis mine throughout, unless noted otherwise:
Conflict of interest
KP has received research grants from Aravax, DBV Technologies, Novartis and Siolta and consultant fees from Aravax, paid to their institution, outside the submitted work.
The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
How was the study conducted?
A whole blood stimulation assay was used to investigate the in vitro (ie the child’s) response to a range of different stimulants and SARS-CoV-2 antigens.
Samples were taken from 29 children aged 5-11, both before and after a second boost of BNT162b2. Of these 29, samples from 8 children were also analysed six months after the 2nd BNT162b2.
This isn’t a large sample size and the developmental age range is wide too, so I would be looking for consistent results to lend statistical significance to the findings - think of it as picking a signal out of the noise.
What did they find?
As with influenza vaccination, non-SARS-CoV-2 immune responses were decreased across the board after transfection. This might be more accurately described as “reverse vaccination”.
Not specific dietary advice, but I would seriously consider taking my children off these programs as they are and give them fish oils instead1, as well as look into optimising their diets and supplementing with multivitamins & minerals as appropriate - C, D, Zinc, Magnesium, Selenium etc2.
Key takes:
At V2 + 28, interferon-γ and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 responses to S. aureus, E. coli, L. monocytogenes, BCG vaccine, H. influenzae, hepatitis B antigen, poly(I:C) and R848 stimulations were decreased compared to pre-vaccination.
These are pro-inflammatory cytokines and should be transiently elevated to fight an infection. This is not good and the effects were ongoing:
For most of these heterologous stimulants, IL-6, IL-15 and IL-17 responses were also decreased. There were sustained decreases in cytokine responses to viral, but not bacterial, stimulants six months after BNT162b2 vaccination.
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 responses were increased, albeit at the expense of other pathogens and until the child is exposed to the next escape variant:
Cytokine responses to irradiated SARS-CoV-2, and spike glycoprotein subunits (S1 and S2) were increased at V2 + 28 for most cytokines and remained higher than pre-vaccination responses 6 months after BNT162b2 vaccination for irradiated SARS-CoV-2 and S1. There was no correlation between BNT162b2 vaccination-induced anti-SARS-CoV2-receptor binding domain IgG antibody titre at V2 + 28 and cytokine responses.
Graphically we can see fairly consistent and dramatic results: anti-spike immune responses at the expense of everything else.
The Australian (and other nations') surgeries must be quite busy:
An antiviral defence of key importance, Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) is a potent activator of macrophages and a signature cytokine of activated T lymphocytes3.
Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1) is a chemoattractant cytokine that regulates migration and infiltration of monocytes/macrophages. Migration of monocytes from the blood stream across the vascular endothelium is required for routine immunological surveillance of tissues4.
Following heterologous bacterial, fungal and viral/TLR agonists stimulation, there was a general decrease in cytokine and chemokine responses in children between V1 and V2 + 28. The largest decreases were seen for IFN-γ and MCP-1 (Figures 2, 3A-C).
IL-6, IL-15, IL-17 also decreased between V1 and V2 + 28 following stimulation with BCG, H. influenzae, S. aureus, hepatitis B antigen, poly(I:C), and R848.
L. monocytogenes is more widely known as listeria:
L. monocytogenes stimulation induced IL-15, TNF-α and IP-10 decreases between V1 and V2 + 28.
IL-8 responses also decreased between V1 and V2 + 28 following H. influenzae and S. aureus stimulation.
I’ve discussed RANTES or CCL5 before - its also a chemokine and is expressed by T-cells. Candida albicans is a pathogenic yeast, and prior BCG vaccination didn’t appear to improve outcomes:
RANTES was the only analyte that increased in response to heterologous stimulants (L. monocytogenes and C. albicans) between V1 and V2 + 28. A sensitivity analysis of only participants who did not receive BCG vaccination in MIS BAIR indicated that BCG status had a negligible or no effect on the reported effect of BNT162b2 vaccination on cytokine responses.
Of note from their cytokine analysis immune damping anti-inflammatory IL-4, IL-10 and IL-13 were significantly upregulated. IL-4 and IL-10 are particularly associated with igG4 class switching5. If they had measured igG4 too I suspect we would have seen a significant increase, particularly after 6 months or longer.
The X-axis is to a log scale too, 4 = a 10,000 x increase:
Interestingly, IgE and IgG4 are both stimulated by the same Th2 cytokines, namely IL-4 and IL-13, and the determining factor, which induces the switch towards IgG4 production and IgE inhibition seems to be IL-10.
From: “IgG4 Autoantibodies in Organ-Specific Autoimmunopathies: Reviewing Class Switching, Antibody-Producing Cells, and Specific Immunotherapies” (2022)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.834342/full
What happened after 6 months?
In the 8 children tested, bacterial responses were starting to normalise but antiviral cytokine levels were still highly impaired. This is disturbing as even six months after transfection wasn’t long enough to normalise non-spike immune responses.
It should also be pointed out that sustained increased immune responses over controls can be as bad as impaired responses, especially if these are associated with allergies, asthma, other autoimmune disorders or in cancer patients. Many of these cytokines are oncogenic, such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17 and TNFa6.
We see evidence of immune remodelling here as the response to C. albicans remained elevated.
Key takes:
There were modest changes at V2 + 182 compared to V1 (Figure 4). Stimulation with C. albicans altered several cytokines at V2 + 182 compared to V1 with increased IL-1β, IL-1ra, IL-8, FGF-basic, IL-12p70, IL-8, MIP-1 and decreased MCP-1 and Eotaxin responses.
IL-8 was also increased in response to several bacterial stimulations, including BCG, E. coli and H. influenzae at V2 + 182 compared to V1 (Figure 4).
IP10 or C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) is also a chemokine:
The largest increases were in IL-1β and IL-8 cytokine at V2 + 182 compared to V1 (Figure 4A). Between V1 and V2 + 182, BCG stimulation-induced responses of RANTES increased, while IP-10 decreased.
In addition, E. coli and H. influenzae stimulation TNF-α responses increased at V2 + 182 compared to V1. Other modest changes included increases in IL-1ra and G-CSF following H. influenzae and E. coli stimulations at V2 + 182 compared to V1.
Heatmap A shows the relative change in cytokine responses 6 months after the first BNT162b2 “vaccination”.
Heatmap B shows the relative change in cytokine responses 6 months after the second BNT162b2 booster + 28 days. The differences here are less extreme as the response is already being impaired and the baseline for comparison is therefore lower:
Again, they found that cytokine responses to viruses and toll like receptor agonists (ie hepatitis B antigen) were widely impaired:
For viral/TLR agonists (hepatitis B antigen, poly(I:C), R848) stimulations, there were decreases in several cytokine and chemokine responses in children at V2 + 182 compared to V1. Hepatitis B antigen and poly(I:C) stimulation responses were decreased for IL-6, IL-15, TNF-α, GM-CSF, PDGF-BB, VEGF, FGF-basic, IL-10, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, IL-13, and Eotaxin at V2 + 182 compared to V1.
In addition, at V2 + 182 compared to V1, hepatitis B antigen stimulation responses also decreased for IL-1β, IL-12p70, IL-17, and MIP-1β. Poly(I:C) stimulation response to IL-1ra, IL-7, and MIP-1α were also decreased at V2 + 182 compared to V1. Comparison of V2 + 182 to V1 did not show any decrease in cytokine responses to R848 stimulation except for a marked increase in IL-1β (Figure 4A).
As expected, cytokine responses to spike protein were sustained at 6 months, but even here S2 responses were starting to fail:
Analysis of responses to SARS-CoV-2-specific stimulations showed that many of the cytokine responses were sustained from V1 to V2 + 182. Comparison of V2 + 182 to V1 showed increased iSARS and S1 stimulation responses for a range of cytokines and chemokines including IL-1β, IL-1ra, IL-6, G-CSF, GM-CSF, VEGF, FGF-basic, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL4, IL-5, IL-17, MIP-1α and MIP-1β. NCP stimulation responses for a wide range of cytokines were altered between V1 and V2 + 182, with increases in 22/27 cytokine and chemokine analytes (Figure 4A).
Fewer cytokines maintained increased responses to S2 stimulation between V2 + 182 and V1 (5 at V2 + 182 compared to 17 at V2 + 28).
Only the IL-8 response to Listeria was starting to normalise after 6 months:
For 8 of 14 stimulations, there were no changes in cytokine response from V2 + 28 to V2 + 182 in the 8 participants with paired samples at V1, V2 + 28 and V2 + 182. Although only IL-8 was significantly increased from V1 to V2 + 182 following L. monocytogenes stimulation (Figure 4A), at V2 + 28 to V2 + 182 there were increases in 16 out of 27 cytokines/chemokines (Figure 4B).
Polycytidylic acid (Poly(I:C)) can be used to simulate viral infections. It is structurally similar to double-stranded RNA and is a "natural" stimulant of TLR3.
Poly(I:C) stimulation responses were decreased for 7 out of 27 cytokines between V2 + 28 and V2 + 182.
As with BCG vaccination status they also found little correlation between prior COVID-19, anti-spike, anti-RBD, total IgG antibody titres and cytokine responses:
Prior COVID-19 did not significantly increase anti-spike or anti-RBD IgG antibody titre before or after vaccination (Figures 5C, D). Anti-spike IgG antibody titre and anti-RBD IgG antibody titre were positively correlated at V2 + 28 (data not shown).
Anti-RBD IgG antibody titre and heterologous stimulation cytokine response largely did not correlate. That is, there were few correlations between V1 to V2 + 28 differences in anti-RBD IgG antibody titre and the V1 to V2 + 28 difference in cytokine responses to SARS-CoV-2 or heterologous stimulants (Supplementary Table S3).
Other comments
From their “Background” section:
In high-mortality settings, live-attenuated vaccines are associated with reductions in all-cause infant mortality greater than can be attributed to vaccine-specific protection alone (5–7). The reduction in all-cause mortality in high-mortality settings is proposed to be due, at least in part, to protection against infections unrelated to the vaccine target (2–4).
Why “high-mortality” settings? Can we instead look into causation? Why is the mortality rate high?
Let us reference check 5-7:
5. Aaby P, Gustafson P, Roth A, Rodrigues A, Fernandes M, Sodemann M, et al. Vaccinia scars associated with better survival for adults. An observational study from Guinea-Bissau. Vaccine (2006) 24(29-30):5718–25. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.04.045
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16720061/
6. Andersen A, Fisker AB, Rodrigues A, Martins C, Ravn H, Lund N, et al. National immunization campaigns with oral polio vaccine reduce all-cause mortality: A natural experiment within seven randomized trials. Front Public Health (2018) 6:13. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00013
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29456992/
7. Higgins JP, Soares-Weiser K, Lopez-Lopez JA, Kakourou A, Chaplin K, Christensen H, et al. Association of BCG, DTP, and measles containing vaccines with childhood mortality: systematic review. Bmj (2016) 355:i5170. doi: 10.1136/bmj.i5170
These rely heavily on meta-analysis rather than comparisons to control groups, eg the Amish community.
BCG may be of benefit. I've looked at some VAERS reports for DTAP (diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis) and some are horrendous. You wouldn't give it to your dog:
From Ref [7]:
Receipt of DTP (almost always with oral polio vaccine) was associated with a possible increase in all cause mortality on average (relative risk 1.38, 0.92 to 2.08) from 10 studies at high risk of bias; this effect seemed stronger in girls than in boys.
Highlights
• Additive or synergistic toxicity may occur following multivalent vaccination.
• Infant deaths post-vaccination are often misclassified as SIDS or suffocation in bed.
• Of all reported SIDS cases post-vaccination, 75 % occurred within 7 days (p < 0.00001).
• Inflammatory cytokines in the infant medulla act as neuromodulators causing prolonged apneas.
• Adjuvants that cross the BBB may induce fatal disorganization of respiratory control.
From: “Vaccines and sudden infant death: An analysis of the VAERS database 1990–2019 and review of the medical literature” (2021)
The "money shot" - its a reverse vaccine and fit for landfill insertion only:
Our study showed that, in children, SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination decreases inflammatory cytokine responses (IFN-γ, MCP-1, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-15) to heterologous bacterial, fungal and viral re-stimulation. A pre-print of a study in 16 adult healthcare workers reported heterologous effects of the same mRNA-based vaccine used in our study (26). The study in adults found decreases in IFN-γ and IL-6 production after stimulation with heterologous stimulants of bacterial and viral origin and increases in inflammatory cytokine production after C. albicans stimulation (26), in keeping with our findings.
The authors acknowledge the potential clinical effects, but more research is needed. Its a bit late in the day to admit that we don’t know as we lack pre-rollout trial data:
It has been postulated that COVID-19 vaccines that provide a combinatorial effect from both adaptive and trained immunity may result in more potent and broader protection (32, 33). Our findings suggest SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination could alter the immune response to other pathogens, which cause both vaccine-preventable and non-vaccine-preventable diseases (34, 35). This is particularly relevant in children as they: have extensive exposure to microbes at daycare, school, and social occasions; are often encountering these microbes for the first time; and receive multiple vaccines as part of routine childhood vaccination schedules. There are currently no data on the clinical effects of COVID-19 vaccination-related heterologous effects in children.
Lack of a control group was one limitation, so each child was their own control.
I think it was extremely unethical to “recommend” vaccination of an experimental gene therapy agent with no long term safety or efficacy data.
You can’t just undo an injection or administer an antidote if you've got it wrong. And the research data and case reports shows that they did get it very wrong:
Limitations include the inability to include an unvaccinated control group due to the ATAGI recommendation for all children aged 5 to 11 years to receive the BNT162b2 vaccine. It was unethical to randomise children into an unvaccinated, placebo or delayed vaccination group, given that ATAGI recommended the BNT162b2 vaccine for the age group of interest and that Melbourne was experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases in the community during the study period.
As a pragmatic solution we designed the trial to use each child as their own comparator, before and after vaccination. The large proportion of parents not willing to return for the optional visit at V2 + 182 led to a reduced number of samples available for analyses at this time point.
Does the big stick of “No Jab, No Play” legislation look like a “recommendation” or a mandate to you?
Despite the use of medical fascism and a focus on anti-spike immune responses the farce is that it didn’t even work that well, or they were transfecting those with prior exposure to a virus of minimal risk and therefore didn’t need it:
Overall, the median age at first BNT162b2 vaccination was 6.4 years (IQR = 5.88-6.83) (Supplementary Table S2). Of the 47 children who provided a blood sample at V1, 21 were female and 32 did not receive BCG in the MIS BAIR trial. Three children were SARS-CoV-2 NCP reactive at the first visit, eight at V2 + 28 and seven at V2 + 182, all were excluded in the primary analysis. Therefore, 29 children with paired samples were included in the final analyses.
And in conclusion, its reassuring that many countries are no longer recommending it for children:
Who should get the COVID-19 vaccine?
Everyone over the age of 18 is advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Those born in 2004 and 2005 have also previously been advised to get vaccinated. It is voluntary and free for everyone to get the vaccine.
From: “COVID-19 vaccination in Norway” (2023)
https://www.helsenorge.no/en/coronavirus/covid19-vaccination/
These data show that a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccine alters heterologous immunity in children and that these effects can persist up to six months after vaccination. Whether SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-based vaccines can induce the epigenetic and metabolic changes associated with trained immunity to provide protection against other infectious diseases remains an open question. That SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination in children could impact immune responses to other pathogens emphasises the need for further research and consideration of heterologous effects in vaccination policies given their broad public health implications.
The empire strikes back
This paper was so controversial at the time that the authors issued a statement.
I reproduce it here in full for editorial balance and then “fact check” a couple of points.
From “A statement regarding a recent COVID-19 vaccination publication”7:
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has released a statement from the authors of the recent publication, “BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccination in children alters cytokine responses to heterologous pathogens and Toll-like receptor agonists”.
“It has been brought to our attention that our recently published study is being misinterpreted and misused to claim that COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous. Our research does not provide any evidence to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines are harmful to the immune system of children or adults. In particular, it is incorrect to suggest that our study results show that COVID-19 vaccines ‘suppress the immune system’.
“In blood taken from children one and six months after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, in laboratory experiments, we observed changes in cytokine production by immune cells in response to challenge with various pathogens. These cytokine responses are only one facet of the body’s combined immune response and we do not know how long they last. We did not investigate the clinical consequence of these changes, which could just as easily be beneficial (e.g., by reducing harmful inflammation) as undesirable. We have found similar changes in the immune response after BCG vaccination in infants, in whom BCG vaccination is associated with generalised protection against infectious diseases and eczema in high-risk settings.
“Any suggestion that our exploratory study implies that COVID-19 vaccines cause a harmful suppression of children’s immune system is a naïve and misguided oversimplification of our findings, and ignores other studies that do not support this concept.”
Professor Nigel Curtis
Senior Principal Research Fellow, Infectious Diseases Group Leader, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, The University of Melbourne
Head of Infectious Diseases, The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne
Dr Nicole Messina
Senior Research Officer, Infectious Diseases Team Leader, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Dr Andrés Noé
Research Officer, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Ouch.
To take the first point that “reducing harmful inflammation” “could just as easily be beneficial”, well the pro-inflammatory and interferon gamma response isn’t just there coincidentally and if we take tuberculosis as an example then impaired responses are indeed associated with poorer outcomes.
From "Suppressed Type 1, Type 2, and Type 17 Cytokine Responses in Active Tuberculosis in Children" (2011)8:
ABSTRACT
Type 1 cytokine responses are known to play an important role in immunity to tuberculosis (TB) in children, although little is known about other factors that might be important. In addition, children are more prone to developing extrapulmonary manifestations of TB than adults. To identify the immune responses important both in control of infection and in extrapulmonary dissemination, we examined mycobacterium-specific cytokine responses of children with pulmonary TB (PTB) and extrapulmonary TB (ETB) and compared them with those of healthy control children (HC). No significant differences were found in the cytokine responses either with no stimulation or following mycobacterial-antigen (Ag) stimulation between children with PTB and ETB. On the other hand, children with active TB compared with HC showed markedly diminished production of type 1 (gamma interferon [IFN-γ] and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α]), 2 (interleukin 4 [IL-4] and IL-13), and 17 (IL-17A, IL-21, and IL-23)-associated cytokines with no stimulation and in response to mycobacterial antigens. This was not associated with significantly altered production of IL-10 or transforming growth factor β (TGF-β). Among children with ETB, those with neurologic involvement exhibited more significantly diminished Ag-driven IFN-γ and IL-17 production. Pediatric TB is characterized by diminished type 1, 2, and 17 cytokine responses, with the most profound diminution favoring development of neurologic TB, suggesting a crucial role for these cytokines in protection against pediatric tuberculosis.
Coincidence?
Tuberculosis (TB) rates dipped early in the COVID-19 pandemic but rose in 2022, especially among children under 5 years, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The message is loud and clear – TB is still here,” Philip LoBue, M.D., FACP, FCCP, director of CDC’s Division of Tuberculosis Elimination, said in a press release. “For the second year in a row, TB disease cases in the U.S. have continued to rise, with concerning increases among young children and other groups at increased risk for TB disease.”
…About 73% of cases were among people not born in the U.S., according to the report. Among U.S.-born people with TB, people who are Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native had the highest incidence rates.
People ages 65 and older had the highest TB rates in 2022. However, there was a 29% increase among children under 5 years and a 24% increase among people ages 15-24 years.
“The increase in TB incidence among children aged <4 years might represent both recent transmission in the United States and infection in countries with higher TB incidence,” authors wrote.
From: “CDC: TB rates in children under 5 rose 29% in 2022” (2023)
On the second hi-lighted point about “other studies” in 2021 Föhse et al also observed long-term transcriptional changes in immune cells after vaccination, as assessed by RNA sequencing. These were associated with an increased risk of contracting COVID-19, and included an increased inflammatory response to C. albicans:
…The hypothesis of downregulated interferon production agrees with our data, however, the causes of these effect remain to be proven. Our results may explain the data from a recent study of over 50,000 healthcare workers that found that the more doses of the mRNA vaccine received by the individuals, the higher their risk of contracting COVID-19 [39]. It may be thus hypothesized that vaccination with mRNA-based vaccines causes dysregulation of innate immune responses, and that the consequences of this effect for protection against SARS-CoV-2 cannot be fully compensated by the induction of adaptive immune responses.
From: “The impact of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine on adaptive and innate immune responses” (2021)
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.03.21256520v2.full
Almost all other studies are taken as snapshots within weeks of transfection or boosting when cytokine responses are highest, or they look at metrics such as antibodies that are not a correlate of protection.
And data from unvaccinated controls is rarely available, or the definition used for vaccination is a somewhat flexible concept. You can then call all your breakthrough infections “unvaccinated”.
Hat tip to @NarfGB:
The unvaccinated group was defined as not having received a covid-19 vaccine dose up to 14 days before the infant’s SARS-CoV-2 test; we, therefore, excluded infants of mothers who received: one or two mRNA covid-19 vaccine doses before conception and no doses during pregnancy; a first or second mRNA covid-19 vaccine dose less than 14 days before delivery; or a first or second mRNA covid-19 vaccine dose postpartum and at least 14 days before the infant’s SARS-CoV-2 test. We also excluded infants of mothers who received a covid-19 vaccine that was viral vector-based or not Health Canada approved.
From: “Maternal mRNA covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy and delta or omicron infection or hospital admission in infants: test negative design study” (2023)
In this study of 551 healthcare workers, elevated antibody geometric mean titre (GMT) was positively associated with breakthrough infections. The solution is of course even more boosters:
Fifty-six participants, none of whom were COVID-19 convalescents, had breakthrough infections between 10 and 24 weeks post-vaccination. Before breakthrough infections, the GMT was not different between the breakthrough and non-breakthrough individuals. After infection, the GMT was significantly higher in individuals with breakthrough infections (2038 BAU/ml [95%CI, 1547-2685]), specifically in symptomatic breakthroughs, compared to those without infection (254 BAU/ml [95%CI, 233-278]). A notable surge in breakthrough infections among healthcare workers coincided with the emergence of the Delta variant and when BNT162b2-elicited antibody responses waned in 10-24 weeks (i.e. approximately 3-6 months). Post-breakthrough, the antibody response was boosted in individuals with symptomatic presentations, but not asymptomatic individuals. The study finding supports administering booster vaccination for healthcare staff, including those who recovered from asymptomatic breakthrough infection.
From: “COVID-19 breakthrough infections and humoral immune response among BNT162b2 vaccinated healthcare workers in Malaysia” (2022)
Alternatives to “reverse vaccination”
Coming back to the “high-mortality” settings, if poor nutrition is a factor then vaccination programs are just pushing on a string. Smallpox vaccination of Victorian children is a great example:
https://doorlesscarp953.substack.com/p/smallpox-and-monkeypox-vaccine-mythology
The hugely promoted, strong-armed and profitable vaccine industry doesn’t want you to see research like this, for obvious reasons:
Trends
Undernourished children principally die of common infections, and immune defects are consistently demonstrated in under- and overnutrition.
Parental malnutrition leads to epigenetic modifications of infant immune and metabolic genes.
Healthy gut development relies on sensing of dietary nutrients, commensal, and pathogenic microbes via immune receptors.
Recurrent infections, chronic inflammation, and enteropathy compound clinical malnutrition by altering gut structure and function.
Immune cell activation and systemic proinflammatory mediator levels are increased in malnutrition.
Malnutrition impairs immune priming by DC and monocytes, and impairs effector memory T cell function.
Immune dysfunction can directly drive pathological processes in malnutrition, including malabsorption, increased metabolic demand, dysregulation of the growth hormone and HPA axes, and greater susceptibility to infection.
...Specific nutrient deficiencies may influence T cell metabolism via cytoplasmic nutrient sensors including the glucose sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPKα1), which regulates cell survival post-activation, and the mammalian target of rapamycin serine/threonine kinase complex (mTORc1) 62, 63. Neither AMPKα1 nor mTORc1 activity has been assessed in T cells from undernourished children; however, both sensors can influence TEM maintenance (reviewed by [63]), which is impaired in murine PEM [64]. Malnutrition also alters levels of energy homeostasis mediators, including glucocorticoid hormones of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis [65] and adipokines released predominantly from adipose tissue 6, 7. Glucocorticoid hormones regulate inflammation and promote thymic and neurocognitive development [65], which are impaired in undernourished children.
From: "Immune Dysfunction as a Cause and Consequence of Malnutrition" (2016)
Start with improving sanitation and nutrition first, then work away from there, eg addressing foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs)9 via social programs.
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References
BDA. Fish oils and children. Accessed October 30, 2023. https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/fish-oils-and-children.html
Shakoor H, Feehan J, Al Dhaheri AS, et al. Immune-boosting role of vitamins D, C, E, zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids: Could they help against COVID-19? Maturitas. 2021;143:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2020.08.003
Kang S, Brown HM, Hwang S. Direct Antiviral Mechanisms of Interferon-Gamma. Immune Netw. 2018 Oct 17;18(5):e33.
Deshmane SL, Kremlev S, Amini S, Sawaya BE. Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1): An Overview. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2009 Jun;29(6):313–26.
Irrgang P, Gerling J, Kocher K, Lapuente D, Steininger P, Habenicht K, et al. Class switch towards non-inflammatory, spike-specific IgG4 antibodies after repeated SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination. Sci Immunol. :eade2798.
D’Orazi G, Cordani M, Cirone M. Oncogenic pathways activated by pro-inflammatory cytokines promote mutant p53 stability: clue for novel anticancer therapies. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2021;78(5):1853-1860. doi:10.1007/s00018-020-03677-7
Silvey K. A statement regarding a recent COVID-19 vaccination publication - Murdoch Children’s Research Institute [Internet]. [cited 2023 Oct 30]. Available from: https://www.mcri.edu.au/news-stories/a-statement-regarding-a-recent-covid-19-vaccination-publication
Kumar NP, Anuradha R, Suresh R, et al. Suppressed Type 1, Type 2, and Type 17 Cytokine Responses in Active Tuberculosis in Children ▿. Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2011;18(11):1856-1864. doi:10.1128/CVI.05366-11
Gauthier TW. Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and the Developing Immune System. Alcohol Res. 2015;37(2):279-285.
Shame on the Pediatricians . That vax schedule gets pushed like mad.
I’m now sending your posts to my friend who is a pediatrician- she is supposedly also giving them to another pediatrician in her office :)
Meanwhile, every time I read your articles, I fast forward to thinking about when my children become parents themselves. I don’t think I’m going to be a terribly popular grandparent with all of the warnings about vaccines and the books I’m going to be shoving in their hands when they start having kids ....