(UPDATED) Exclusive Summary: Covid-19 Vaccine Concerns

December 18, 2021

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Updated Dec. 16, 2021 with CDC warning of dangerous blood clot risk with Johnson & Johnson vaccine
Updated Dec. 15, 2021 with CDC confirming Johnson and Johnson vaccine link to Guillain Barre paralysis
Updated Nov. 21, 2021 with “dramatic” increase in risk of heart injury
Updated Nov. 14, 2021 with Taiwan suspending second dose of Covid vaccine for children
Updated Nov. 13, 2021 with concerns over Capillary Leak Syndrome
Updated Nov. 10, 2021 with Germany limiting Moderna in young people; pregnant women
Updated Nov. 7, 2021 with study showing 2 of 3 U.S. vaccines under 50% effectiveness after 6 mos.
Updated Oct. 30, 2021 with UK study showing no difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated in peak viral load
Updated Oct. 29, 2021 with Israel study showing waning immunity in a few months in all age groups after vaccination
Updated Oct. 23, 2021 with increased rate of preterm birth in pregnant women
Updated Oct. 10, 2021 with Iceland pausing Moderna over increased heart problems
Updated Oct. 8, 2021 with Vietnam study about vaccinated people carrying more Delta viral load; spreading Covid
Updated Oct. 7, 2021 with Finland pausing Moderna vaccine for young males due to heart issues.
Updated Oct. 6, 2021 with Sweden and Denmark halting Moderna in young people due to risk of heart injuries. Slovenia suspends Johnson & Johnson.
Updated Oct. 4, 2021 with study about vaccine immunity quickly wearing off
Updated Oct. 3, 2021 with EU blood disorder concerns and Hepatitis C death
Updated Sept. 19, 2021 with British study about menstrual cycle changes in women
Updated Sept. 12, 2021 with study finding teenage boys face much higher heart risk from vaccine than Covid
Updated Sept.10,2021 with Israel study on majority of hospitalized being vaccinated
Updated Sept. 9, 2021 with CDC study about increased myocarditis/heart inflammation risk, lymphadenopathy, appendicitis, and herpes zoster infection
Updated Sept. 4, 2021 with acute CNS demyelination after Pfizer and Moderna vaccines
Updated Aug. 30, 2021 with Functional Neurological Disorder
Updated Aug. 24, 2021 with waning immunity
Updated Aug. 17, 2021 with Bell’s Palsy analysis, Hong Kong
Updated Aug. 16, 2021 with Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE) study
Updated Aug. 5, 2021 with heart disorders more common than CDC reported from database
Updated July 22, 2021 with EU warning about Guillain-Barre autoimmune paralysis after Johnson and Johnson vaccination.
Updated July 12, 2021 with new FDA warning of Guillain-Barre autoimmune paralysis cases after vaccination.
Updated July 12, 2021 with reports of Graves disease autoimmune disorder after vaccination.
Updated July 1, 2021 with reports of Guillain-Barre paralysis cases after vaccination.
Updated June 30, 2021 with news of first case of blood clot disorder in double-dose RNA vaccinE

If you find yourself confused about the mixed guidance when it comes to Covid-19 vaccines and safety concerns, you’re not alone.

While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is marketing widespread use of the emergency-use vaccines in the U.S. for both old and young alike, many other countries are limiting Covid-19 vaccine use. Health officials around the world are giving varying advice on safety issues as Covid-19 vaccines are given to more people, and more information can be collected.

Read CDC’s information here.

Moderna vaccine info sheet.

Below are summaries of some of the concerns that have emerged or been raised by medical officials.

Click here to jump to: Summary by safety concern

Click here to jump to: Summary by vaccine

Click here to jump to: Summary by country

Click here to jump to: Additional reading and studies

General

In the UK, some scientists analyzed adverse event reports and called upon the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to stop the Covid-19 vaccines as “not safe for human use” due to reports of issues with bleeding/clotting, pain, immune system, neurological, loss of sight/hearing/smell/speech, and questions about impact in pregnant women.

A petition of scientists led by Linda Wastila, Professor, Pharmaceutical Health Services Research University of Maryland School of Pharmacy is calling for Covid-19 vaccines to be disapproved.

Fifty-seven authors from 17 countries have signed an endorsement urging that Covid-19 vaccinations be stopped unless new safety mechanisms are immediately implemented.

The authors include Dr. Peter McCullough, cardiologist and former Vice Chief of Medicine at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, who has called for a halt to vaccinating 30-year olds due to “no clinical benefit” and safety concerns. [McCullough is currently Senior Professor of Internal Medicine at the Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center.]

Acute CNS Demyelination and Multiple Sclerosis

A new study in Journal of Neurology examines possible links between Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and acute Central Nervous System (CNS) demyelination, including Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Demyelinating diseases damage the protective covering surrounding nerve fibers in the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord, causing neurological problems. In the study, four patients had the Pfizer vaccine and three had the Moderna vaccine. Within 21 days of the first or second dose, the patients developed active CNS demyelination of the optic nerve, brain, and/or spinal cord leading to “visual loss, dysmetria, gait instability, paresthesias, sphincter disturbance, and limb weakness.”

Age ranged from 24 to 64 years old. Four patients were ultimately diagnoses with exacerbation of their stable MS.

Two were diagnosed with new cases of MS.

One was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica.

Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE)

Updated (read more here). According to studies:

Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE) can make vaccinated people more susceptible to serious infection from the virus
“ADE may be a concern” for those who have been vaccinated for Covid-19
With ADE, after people get vaccinated for an initial virus, infection by a subsequent variant or strain of the virus can result in “increased viral replication and more severe disease, leading to major safety risks”
ADE can also “occur when neutralizing antibodies (which bind the virus and stop it from causing infection) are present at low enough levels that they don’t protect against infection. Instead, they can form immune complexes with viral particles, which in turn leads to worse illness”
This concern was initially described by some scientists who were subsequently banned from media platforms that incorrectly claimed the scientists were disseminating disinformation

Appendicitis

Updated Sept. 9, 2021: The Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was found to be associated with increased risk of appendicitis, according to a real-world case-control study from Israel.

Bell’s Palsy Paralysis

Updated Aug. 17: An analysis in Hong Kong shows risk of Bell’s palsy is higher with CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech) shot, a vaccine formulation not currently used in U.S. Bell’s palsy is facial paralysis, muscle twitching, or weakness. It may include change in taste, and pain around the ear, increased sensitivity to sound known as hyperacusis. An adverse event analysis of U.S. reports shows 4,154 Bell’s Palsy after Covid-19 vaccination.

Blood Clots and Blood Disorders

Updated Dec. 17, 2021: CDC warns of risk of blood clots, Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), with Johnson & Johnson vaccine and recommends people get Moderna or Pfizer, instead.

Updated Oct. 6, 2021: Slovenia has temporarily halted Johnson & Johnson vaccine after a stroke death in a 20 year old woman.

In late June, the first case of a blood clot disorder called “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia” after an RNA double-dose vaccine was been reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The case was that of a 65-year-old man who developed symptoms ten days after his second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Because the blood clot disorder was not previously warned about in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, doctors treated the patient with heparin, the very drug that’s not supposed to be used in post-vaccine patients suffering from the disorder because it could actually worsen the condition.

The Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine was temporarily removed from the market in the U.S. on April 16, 2021 while health officials studied reports of blood clot injuries. Among them was an 18-year old teen named Emma Burkey, who got sick about a week after the Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine and ended up having three brain surgeries related to blood clots and seizures.

Read: BBC radio news anchor dies of blood clots after Covid vaccine

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine was allowed back on the market April 27, 2021 with new warnings about the disorder.

Swedish health officials determined that people under age 65 should not get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine due to reports of blood clots.

An editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association recommended women under age 50 avoid the Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine due to concerns about blood clots. The recommendation discussed 12 case reports of a blood disorder known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) with thrombocytopenia following the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (not currently approved in the U.S.) has been linked to a dangerous disorder involving blood clots with low blood platelets. On April 7, 2021, the European Medicines Agency says it made the association after it analyzed 62 cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and 24 cases of splanchnic vein thrombosis reported in the EU drug safety database (EudraVigilance) as of March 22, 2021; 18 of which were fatal.

An otherwise healthy South Florida doctor, Gregory Michael, died of a brain hemorrhage 16 days after he got Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. Authorities concluded he died of a blood disorder called “immune thrombocytopenia” (ITP) that can prevent blood from clotting and cause internal bleeding. His wife said a blood test showed the level of his platelets to be at “zero.” She said before the shot, Dr. Michael had “absolutely no medical issues” and no underlying conditions. However, authorities later categorized his death as “natural.”

In Spain, the AstraZeneca shot has been restricted in people under age 60 due to reports of blood clots in younger people.

Bulgaria, Iceland and Norway halted AstraZeneca shots for a time due to blood issues or impact on frail. Iceland, and possibly others, reinstated it in people over age 70 and, perhaps, in some over age 60.

Austria, Italy and Romania banned certain “lots” or batches of the AstraZeneca shots.

Denmark stopped using the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine altogether as well as the Johnson and Johnson vaccine after investigations into blood clots, saying “the benefits of using the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson do not outweigh the risk of causing the possible adverse effect in those who receive the vaccine.”

The Italian government recently restricted AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to adults over age 60 after a teenager who got the shot died from a rare form of blood clotting. Eighteen-year-old Camilla Canepa died after getting vaccinated May 25, 2021.

Several other European countries have also stopped giving the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to people below a certain age, usually ranging from 50 to 65.

Updated Sept. 9, 2021: An August 10 study in JAMA Cardiology urged caution in giving Covid-19 vaccine to certain high risk patients due to the vaccine link to a serious blood disorder: thrombocytopenia with thrombosis. “One of the devastating manifestations of this syndrome, termed vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), is cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST),” say the study authors. The link involves the AstraZeneca/Oxford and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, according to the study. The AstraZeneca vaccine is not administered in the U.S. currently.

Read the study here.

Read about a case of VITT in an otherwise healthy mother who died after vaccination.

Updated Oct. 3, 2021: The European Medicines Agency recommended that blood clotting in deep veins and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a bleeding disorder caused by the body mistakenly attacking platelets, be added as adverse reactions to Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The ITP disorder is also linked to the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines, which are not used in the U.S.

Capillary Leak Syndrome (Clarkson’s disease)

Updated Nov. 13, 2021: European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced a review of Moderna vaccine and a possible link to Capillary Leak Syndrome, “a rare disorder involving repeated leaks of large amounts of plasma from blood vessels into nearby body cavities and muscles. The condition—known as Clarkson’s disease—can result in a sharp drop in blood pressure that can lead to organ failure or even death.”

Earlier in the year, the EMA required Capillary Leak Syndrome to be added to the warning label of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine (which is not used in the U.S.)

Frail, elderly

Health officials in Norway sounded the alarm after 23 patients died shortly after getting the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. They advise doctors to use caution in administering the shot to “very frail elderly patients.”

After investigating 13 of the deaths, the Norwegian authorities concluded that common side effects from so-called “RNA” vaccines may be too much for a frail elderly person to handle, and may contribute to their death.

“There is a possibility that these common adverse reactions, that are not dangerous in fitter, younger patients and are not unusual with vaccines, may aggravate underlying disease in the elderly,” said Steinar Madsen, medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency.

CDC said it is monitoring the impact of the vaccines on already-frail patients such as the chronically ill in nursing homes.

Several clusters of elderly patients in U.S. nursing homes die d after Pfizer or Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. In one group, a number of the patients who died tested positive for Covid-19 after vaccination.

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)

Researchers in the United Kingdom are studying two additional cases of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in women in their 30s after receiving Covid-19 vaccines.

FND is a neurological disorder involving malfunctioning of the nervous system and how the brain and body transmit signals. Symptoms can include limb weakness, paralysis, tremor, spasms, problems walking, speech problems, tingling, vision loss, seizures, fatigue, anxiety, chronic pain, memory symptoms, and blackouts.

An analysis of Covid-19 vaccine adverse events showed hundreds of thousands of reports of such symptoms.

In January, videos showing vaccine patients suffering such symptoms were treated by media outlets such as Wired as if they were fake news and “dangerous” misinformation.

In fact, the videos garnered the attention of scientists who investigated and concluded they were early warnings of what happens to some who get Covid-19 vaccines.

The newest cases are outlined in the journal NeuroPsychiatry and include:

A 38-year old woman who got her first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine and quickly developed weakness around her ear, mouth, left arm and leg. She went to the ER the next day and was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy or a transient ischemic attack. Problems continued months later, including memory issues, and she was diagnosed with FND.
A 36-year-old woman who got her second dose of Moderna and quickly noticed weakness in right hand and right leg limping. A day later she reported severe leg heaviness, fatigue, movement difficulties. After physical therapy her right-side weakness improved but she awoke weeks later with left-side weakness, tightness and heaviness in neck, difficulties with daily living, rapid muscle fatigue, dragging right foot, and tremor. She was diagnosed with FND.

Graves disease autoimmune disorder

Studies in Mexico and Turkey link the autoimmune thyroid disorder Graves disease to Covid-19 vaccination in numerous female health care workers, including two who were breastfeeding. Pfizer-BioNTech was the vaccine given in Mexico. A Chinese vaccine was given in Turkey. Read more at the link below.

https://sharylattkisson.com/2021/07/two-studies-covid-19-vaccines-trigger-graves-disease-in-some-female-health-care-workers/

Guillain-Barre syndrome autoimmune paralysis

Update Dec. 15, 2021: A CDC analysis of adverse events reported to the Vaccine Safety Datalink system confirms an increased risk of Guillain-Barre paralysis after Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccination.

Update Oct. 2021: A study finds link between Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine and Guillain-Barre paralysis.

Update July 22, 2021: The European Union added Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune paralysis disorder, as a possible side effect from Johnson and Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine.

Update July 12, 2021: The FDA added warnings about Guillain-Barre autoimmune paralysis, in which the immune system attacks the body’s nerves, after Johnson and Johnson vaccine. According to reports, the cases have primarily been reported about two weeks after vaccination, mostly in men, and “any aged 50 and older.”

Numerous case reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome paralysis after Covid-19 vaccine have prompted scientists to warn that “all physicians” should be “vigilant in recognizing Guillain-Barré syndrome in patients who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine… our observations suggest that this clinically distinct [Guillain-Barré syndrome] variant is more severe than usual and may require mechanical ventilation.” In the U.K., scientists flagged “bifacial weakness and normal facial sensation in four men between 11 and 22 days after their first doses of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.” A case has also been reported in a patient who got the Pfizer vaccine. In India, there are reports of seven severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome 10 to 14 days after the first dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Six were women, all had facial paralysis, “all progressed to quadriplegia, and six required respiratory support. Patients’ ages ranged from 43 to 70. Four developed other cranial neuropathies, including abducens palsy and trigeminal sensory nerve involvement.”

Guillain-Barre syndrome has been reported after other vaccinations. The cause is believed to be damage to the immune system. The disorder can be extremely serious and can lead to total paralysis with dependence on artificial respiration. Even those who recover may have serious muscle wasting and may have to slowly teach the body to relearn most every normal task, such as walking. One in 20 cases is fatal.

Heart Issues

Updated Nov. 21, 2021: An analysis presented at the American Heart Association and published in the journal Cardiology warns of a “dramatic” increase in heart risk for most people who got Covid-19 RNA vaccine.

Updated Nov. 14, 2021: Taiwan’s health minister announced temporary suspension of the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine for children due to concerns about myocarditis heart inflammation. Pfizer is the vaccine given in Taiwan.

Updated Nov. 10, 2021: A German advisory panel says the Moderna shot should not be used in people under 30 or pregnant women because it causes more cases of heart inflammation than Pfizer. Moderna’s rate of heart inflammation in young men was nearly triple that reported after Pfizer. Some health authorities have flagged heart issues with both vaccines.

Updated Oct. 10, 2021: Iceland joins Finland, Sweden and Denmark in pausing Moderna due to increased heart issues such as myocarditis and pericarditis. While some of the countries are permitting Moderna in people over age 30, Iceland is not permitting its use at all, currently.

Updated Oct. 7, 2021: Finland joins Sweden and Denmark in pausing use of Moderna in men 30 and under due to heart issues after a Nordic study found that men under the age of 30 were at a higher risk of developing myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.

Updated Oct. 6, 2021: Sweden and Denmark have halted use of Moderna in people under age 30 due to increased risk of heart injuries such as myocarditis. Slovenia has temporarily halted Johnson & Johnson.

Updated Sept. 9, 2021: The Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was found to be associated with a threefold increased risk of myocarditis, according to a real-world case-control study from Israel. “Vaccination had a strong association with an increased risk of myocarditis as well as increased risks of lymphadenopathy [swelling or inflammation of lymph nodes], appendicitis, and herpes zoster infection.”

The Food and Drug Administration has added a new warning to Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines about risk of heart inflammation.

As of June of 2021, CDC said that more than 1,200 cases of heart inflammation (myocarditis or pericarditis) in young people had been reported after Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccination.

More than half were after the second dose.
Most of the injuries are in males under age 30.

Updated Aug. 4: A new, independent study of medical records found the incidences of myocarditis and pericarditis are more than five times more common than CDC reported.

The Israeli Ministry of Health announced it’s monitoring for heart inflammation after Pfizer’s vaccine due to reports of problems.

Myocarditis and Other Cardiovascular Complications of the mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccines [Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna] in a number of patients are described in a scientific article:

Two patients with clinically suspected myocarditis
One patient with stress cardiomyopathy
Two patients with pericarditis

According to the research:

The two patients with clinically suspected myocarditis were otherwise healthy young men who presented with acute substernal chest pressure and/or dyspnea after receiving the second dose of the vaccine and were found to have diffuse ST elevations on electrocardiogram (ECG), elevated cardiac biomarkers and inflammatory markers, and mildly reduced left ventricular (LV) function on echocardiography. Both patients met the modified Lake Louise Criteria for acute myocarditis by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.
A case of stress cardiomyopathy occurred in a 60-year-old woman with known coronary artery disease (CAD) and previously normal LV function, who presented with new exertional symptoms, ECG changes, and apical akinesis following the second dose of the vaccine.
The two patients with pericarditis who presented with chest pain, elevated inflammatory markers, and pericardial effusions after receiving the vaccine.

Updated Sept.9, 2021: An August 10 study in JAMA Cardiology confirms the previously identified Pfizer vaccine’s myocarditis (heart inflammation) risk in young boys.

Read the study here.

Updated Sept. 12, 2021: A study of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines finds teenage boys are six times more likely to suffer heart issues from Covid-19 vaccination than from Covid. (However, in both instances, the risk is considered slight.)

Hepatitis C Reactivation and Death

Update Oct. 3, 2021: Scientists in the Netherlands report an elderly woman suffered “reactivation of hepatitis C infection after vaccination with the mRNA-based Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This reactivation manifested with jaundice, loss of consciousness, hepatic coma and death” suggesting “a need for critical consideration of individuals with prior HCV infection and considered for COVID-19 vaccination.”

According to the scientists, “It is known for other vaccines that they can cause virus reactivation, especially in immunosuppressed patients and patients undergoing cancer treatment, eg as described for the herpes zoster subunit vaccine.”

Herpes Zoster Infection

Updated Sept. 9, 2021: The Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was found to be associated with an increased risk of herpes zoster infection, according to a real-world case-control study from Israel.

Updated Oct. 3, 2021: An original analysis of adverse events I conducted of the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting (VAERS) showed 6,339 herpes-related reports.

Lymphadenopathy

Updated Sept. 9, 2021: The Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was found to be associated with an increased risk of lymphadenopathy, swelling or inflammation of lymph nodes according to a real-world case-control study from Israel.

Manufacturing problems

On June 11, the European Union’s drug regulator announced it will not use batches of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine that were made at a Baltimore, Maryland-based plant around the time that cross-contamination manufacturing problems were reported at the facility.

Anonymous sources claimed that up to 60 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine had to be thrown out. But the FDA issued a news release saying that two batches from the Baltimore plant were safe to use. The FDA said “several other batches are not suitable for use, but additional batches are still under review.”

Menstrual Cycle Changes

Updated Sept. 19, 2021: All brands of Covid-19 vaccines are associated in changes in menstrual cycles of women, according to a British study.

Biologically plausible mechanisms linking immune stimulation with menstrual changes include immunological influences on the hormones driving the menstrual cycle or effects mediated by immune cells in the lining of the uterus, which are involved in the cyclical build-up and breakdown of this tissue. Research exploring a possible association between covid-19 vaccines and menstrual changes may also help understand the mechanism.

Menstrual changes after covid-19 vaccination

Pregnant women

Several Brazilian states suspended use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for pregnant women in May 2021 after a pregnant woman died after getting vaccinated. The decisions follow the recommendation of the country’s National Health Surveillance Agency, which recommended “immediate suspension” of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for pregnant women after results of vaccine adverse events monitoring in the country.

CDC says that with limited data on impact of Covid-19 vaccine in pregnant women and on their unborn children, the decision on whether to vaccinate while pregnant is an individual decision to be made between a woman and her physician.

Updated Oct. 23, 2021: A study of AstraZeneca vaccine (not used in the U.S.) finds 30% preterm birth rate for pregnant women vs. 0% in the control group.

Vaccinated (left column) vs. Control (right column)

Previously-infected

CDC falsely claimed that studies showed Covid-19 vaccines are effective for those who already had Covid-19. In fact, studies showed the opposite.

Waning immunity, Breakthrough Infections

Update Nov. 7, 2021: A U.S. study finds after 6 mos. Moderna vaccine effectiveness drops to 60%. Pfizer drops to 49%. J&J drops to 13%. Last yr, FDA’s Dr. Hahn said FDA wouldn’t authorize vaccines that weren’t at least 50% effective.

Update Oct. 30, 2021: A UK study finds “Household Secondary Attack Rate for delta infection, regardless of vaccination status, was 26%” and “peak viral load did not differ by vaccination status.”

Update Oct. 29, 2021: Unlike natural immunity, Israeli data confirms that the Pfizer vaccine wore off in just a few months in all age groups.

Update Oct. 13, 2021: Data from the UK finds vaccines are “highly effective,” but effectiveness wanes after as little as 3-4 months.

Update Oct. 8, 2021: A study of health care workers in Vietnam found vaccinated people infected with Delta Covid-19 carry “unusually high viral loads” in their nostrils that are “251 times higher.” The study said that during a period when the vaccinated patients are infected but don’t yet know it, they could be responsible for heightened spread to other vaccinated or the unvaccinated. The subjects had been fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is not used in the U.S.

Israel announced that about half of the adults infected with Covid-19 during its outbreak in the June 2021 time period were fully vaccinated. The fully-vaccinated individuals had gotten Pfizer’s shots.

According to Epoch Times, in June 2021 nearly 4,000 fully vaccinated people in Massachusetts tested positive for Covid-19. On April 30, “the CDC reported that some 10,626 breakthrough cases were reported in 46 states and territories.” Breakthrough cases are where fully vaccinated people still end up infected with Covid-19.

Scientists hoped that Covid-19 vaccines would be effective in variants of Covid-19, which are mutations that occur naturally with viruses and were always expected with Covid-19. However, the vaccine effectiveness against variants may be limited. CDC and vaccine makers are studying the medical landscape to find out more.

Other states, such as Maine, are noting Covid-19 deaths occurring in fully vaccinated people.

Update Aug. 24, 2021: With evidence of seriously-waning immunity at the five- to six-month mark, CDC is now recommending a third “booster” shot. In highly-vaccinated Israel, recognition that vaccination likely does not confer protection beyond a few months, the country has reimagined its vaccine passports. They will only apply to people who have had three shots, and only be good for a six month period of time.

Update Sept. 10, 2021: An analysis of data in Israel, which has one of the world’s highest Covid-19 vaccination levels, showed almost 60% of those hospitalized for Covid were fully vaccinated. “This is a very clear warning sign for the rest of the world,” said Ran Balicer, CIO at Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest health maintenance organization. “If it can happen here, it can probably happen anywhere.” The Pfizer vaccine is given in Israel.

Update Oct. 4, 2021: A study by university and NIH scientists in the U.S. finds Pfizer vaccine antibodies disappear after about 7 months in many patients.

Pfizer and Moderna

Menstrual Cycle Changes

Updated Sept. 19, 2021: All brands of Covid-19 vaccines are associated in changes in menstrual cycles of women, according to a British study.

Biologically plausible mechanisms linking immune stimulation with menstrual changes include immunological influences on the hormones driving the menstrual cycle or effects mediated by immune cells in the lining of the uterus, which are involved in the cyclical build-up and breakdown of this tissue. Research exploring a possible association between covid-19 vaccines and menstrual changes may also help understand the mechanism.

Menstrual changes after covid-19 vaccination

Acute CNS Demyelination and Multiple Sclerosis

A new study in Journal of Neurology examines possible links between Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and acute Central Nervous System (CNS) demyelination, including Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Demyelinating diseases damage the protective covering surrounding nerve fibers in the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord, causing neurological problems. In the study, four patients had the Pfizer vaccine and three had the Moderna vaccine. Within 21 days of the first or second dose, the patients developed active CNS demyelination of the optic nerve, brain, and/or spinal cord leading to “visual loss, dysmetria, gait instability, paresthesias, sphincter disturbance, and limb weakness.”

Age ranged from 24 to 64 years old. Four patients were ultimately diagnoses with exacerbation of their stable MS.

Two were diagnosed with new cases of MS.

One was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica.

Capillary Leak Syndrome:

Updated Nov. 13, 2021: European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced a review of Moderna vaccine and a possible link to Capillary Leak Syndrome, “a rare disorder involving repeated leaks of large amounts of plasma from blood vessels into nearby body cavities and muscles. The condition—known as Clarkson’s disease—can result in a sharp drop in blood pressure that can lead to organ failure or even death.”

Waning Immunity, Breakthrough Infections

Update Nov. 7, 2021: A U.S. study finds after 6 mos. Moderna vaccine effectiveness drops to 60%. Pfizer drops to 49%. J&J drops to 13%. Last yr, FDA’s Dr. Hahn said FDA wouldn’t authorize vaccines that weren’t at least 50% effective.

Update Oct. 30, 2021: A UK study finds “Household Secondary Attack Rate for delta infection, regardless of vaccination status, was 26%” and “peak viral load did not differ by vaccination status.”

Update Oct. 29, 2021: Unlike natural immunity, Israeli data confirms that the Pfizer vaccine wore off in just a few months in all age groups.

Update Oct. 13, 2021: Data from the UK finds vaccines are “highly effective,” but effectiveness wanes after as little as 3-4 months.

Update Oct. 4, 2021: A study by university and NIH scientists in the U.S. finds Pfizer vaccine antibodies disappear after about 7 months in many patients.

Update Aug. 24, 2021: With evidence of seriously-waning immunity at the five- to six-month mark, CDC is now recommending a third “booster” shot. In highly-vaccinated Israel, recognition that vaccination likely does not confer protection beyond a few months, the country has reimagined its vaccine passports. They will only apply to people who have had three shots, and only be good for a six month period of time.

Update Sept. 10, 2021: An analysis of data in Israel, which has one of the world’s highest Covid-19 vaccination levels, showed almost 60% of those hospitalized for Covid were fully vaccinated. “This is a very clear warning sign for the rest of the world,” said Ran Balicer, CIO at Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest health maintenance organization. “If it can happen here, it can probably happen anywhere.” The Pfizer vaccine is given in Israel.

Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)

Updated Aug. 30, 2021: Researchers in the United Kingdom are studying two additional cases of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in women in their 30s after receiving Covid-19 vaccines.

FND is a neurological disorder involving malfunctioning of the nervous system and how the brain and body transmit signals. Symptoms can include limb weakness, paralysis, tremor, spasms, problems walking, speech problems, tingling, vision loss, seizures, fatigue, anxiety, chronic pain, memory symptoms, and blackouts.

An analysis of Covid-19 vaccine adverse events showed hundreds of thousands of reports of such symptoms.

In January, videos showing vaccine patients suffering such symptoms were treated by media outlets such as Wired as if they were fake news and “dangerous” misinformation.

In fact, the videos garnered the attention of scientists who investigated and concluded they were early warnings of what happens to some who get Covid-19 vaccines.

The newest cases are outlined in the journal Neurology and include:

A 38-year old woman who got her first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine and quickly developed weakness around her ear, mouth, left arm and leg. She went to the ER the next day and was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy or a transient ischemic attack. Problems continued months later, including memory issues, and she was diagnosed with FND.
A 36-year-old woman who got her second dose of Moderna and quickly noticed weakness in right hand and right leg limping. A day later she reported severe leg heaviness, fatigue, movement difficulties. After physical therapy her right-side weakness improved but she awoke weeks later with left-side weakness, tightness and heaviness in neck, difficulties with daily living, rapid muscle fatigue, dragging right foot, and tremor. She was diagnosed with FND.

Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE)

Updated (read more here). According to studies:

Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE) can make vaccinated people more susceptible to serious infection from the virus
“ADE may be a concern” for those who have been vaccinated for Covid-19
With ADE, after people get vaccinated for an initial virus, infection by a subsequent variant or strain of the virus can result in “increased viral replication and more severe disease, leading to major safety risks”
ADE can also “occur when neutralizing antibodies (which bind the virus and stop it from causing infection) are present at low enough levels that they don’t protect against infection. Instead, they can form immune complexes with viral particles, which in turn leads to worse illness”
This concern was initially described by some scientists who were subsequently banned from media platforms that incorrectly claimed the scientists were disseminating disinformation

Guillain-Barre autoimmune paralysis

Numerous case reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome paralysis after Covid-19 vaccine have prompted scientists to warn that “all physicians” should be “vigilant in recognizing Guillain-Barré syndrome in patients who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine… our observations suggest that this clinically distinct [Guillain-Barré syndrome] variant is more severe than usual and may require mechanical ventilation.” In the U.K., scientists flagged “bifacial weakness and normal facial sensation in four men between 11 and 22 days after their first doses of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.” A case has also been reported in a patient who got the Pfizer vaccine. In India, there are reports of seven severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome 10 to 14 days after the first dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Six were women, all had facial paralysis, “all progressed to quadriplegia, and six required respiratory support. Patients’ ages ranged from 43 to 70. Four developed other cranial neuropathies, including abducens palsy and trigeminal sensory nerve involvement.”

Guillain-Barre syndrome has been reported after other vaccinations. The cause is believed to be damage to the immune system. The disorder can be extremely serious and can lead to total paralysis with dependence on artificial respiration. Even those who recover may have serious muscle wasting and may have to slowly teach the body to relearn most every normal task, such as walking. One in 20 cases is fatal.

Blood Clots

In late June, the first case of a blood clot disorder called “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia” after an RNA double-dose vaccine was been reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The case was that of a 65-year-old man who developed symptoms ten days after his second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Because the blood clot disorder was not previously warned about in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, doctors treated the patient with heparin, the very drug that’s not supposed to be used in post-vaccine patients suffering from the disorder because it could actually worsen the condition.

Heart inflammation

Updated Nov. 21, 2021: An analysis presented at the American Heart Association and published in the journal Cardiology warns of a “dramatic” increase in heart risk for most people who got Covid-19 RNA vaccine.

Updated Nov. 14, 2021: Taiwan’s health minister announced temporary suspension of the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine for children due to concerns about myocarditis heart inflammation. Pfizer is the vaccine given in Taiwan.

Updated Nov. 10, 2021: A German advisory panel says the Moderna shot should not be used in people under 30 or pregnant women because it causes more cases of heart inflammation than Pfizer. Moderna’s rate of heart inflammation in young men was nearly triple that reported after Pfizer. Some health authorities have flagged heart issues with both vaccines.

Updated Oct. 10, 2021: Iceland joins Finland, Sweden and Denmark in pausing Moderna due to increased heart issues such as myocarditis and pericarditis. While some of the countries are permitting Moderns in people over age 30, Iceland is not permitting its use at all, currently.

Updated Oct. 7, 2021: Finland joins Sweden and Denmark in pausing use of Moderna in men 30 and under due to heart issues after a Nordic study found that men under the age of 30 were at a higher risk of developing myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.

Updated Oct. 6, 2021: Sweden and Denmark have halted use of Moderna in people under age 30 due to increased risk of heart injuries such as myocarditis.

Updated Sept. 9, 2021: The Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was found to be associated with a threefold increased risk of myocarditis, according to a real-world case-control study from Israel. “Vaccination had a strong association with an increased risk of myocarditis as well as increased risks of lymphadenopathy [swelling or inflammation of lymph nodes], appendicitis, and herpes zoster infection.”

The Food and Drug Administration has added a new warning to Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines about risk of heart inflammation.

As of June of 2021, CDC said that more than 1,200 cases of heart inflammation (myocarditis of pericarditis) in young people had been reported after Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccination.

More than half were after the second dose.
Most of the injuries are in males under age 30.

Updated Aug. 4: A new, independent study of medical records found the incidences of myocarditis and pericarditis are more than five times more common than CDC reported.

The Israeli Ministry of Health announced it’s monitoring for heart inflammation after Pfizer’s vaccine due to reports of problems.

Myocarditis and Other Cardiovascular Complications of the mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccines [Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna] in a number of patients are described in a scientific article:

Two patients with clinically suspected myocarditis
One patient with stress cardiomyopathy
Two patients with pericarditis

According to the research:

The two patients with clinically suspected myocarditis were otherwise healthy young men who presented with acute substernal chest pressure and/or dyspnea after receiving the second dose of the vaccine and were found to have diffuse ST elevations on electrocardiogram (ECG), elevated cardiac biomarkers and inflammatory markers, and mildly reduced left ventricular (LV) function on echocardiography. Both patients met the modified Lake Louise Criteria for acute myocarditis by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.
A case of stress cardiomyopathy occurred in a 60-year-old woman with known coronary artery disease (CAD) and previously normal LV function, who presented with new exertional symptoms, ECG changes, and apical akinesis following the second dose of the vaccine.
The two patients with pericarditis who presented with chest pain, elevated inflammatory markers, and pericardial effusions after receiving the vaccine.

An otherwise healthy South Florida doctor, Gregory Michael, died of a brain hemorrhage 16 days after he got Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. Authorities concluded he died of a blood disorder called “immune thrombocytopenia” (ITP) that can prevent blood from clotting and cause internal bleeding. His wife said a blood test showed the level of his platelets to be at “zero.” She said before the shot, Dr. Michael had “absolutely no medical issues” and no underlying conditions. However, authorities later categorized his death as “natural.”

Updated Sept. 12, 2021: A study of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines finds teenage boys are six times more likely to suffer heart issues from Covid-19 vaccination than from Covid. (However, in both instances, the risk is considered slight.)

Frail, elderly

Health officials in Norway sounded the alarm after 23 patients died shortly after receiving the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. They advise doctors to use caution in administering the shot to “very frail elderly patients.”

After investigating 13 of the deaths, the Norwegian authorities concluded that common side effects from so-called “RNA” vaccines may be too much for a frail elderly person to handle, and may contribute to their death.

“There is a possibility that these common adverse reactions, that are not dangerous in fitter, younger patients and are not unusual with vaccines, may aggravate underlying disease in the elderly,” said Steinar Madsen, medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency.

CDC said it is monitoring the impact of the vaccines on already-frail patients such as the chronically ill in nursing homes.

Several clusters of elderly patients in U.S. nursing homes died after Pfizer or Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. In one group, a number of the patients who died tested positive for Covid-19 after vaccination.

Israel announced that about half of the adults infected with Covid-19 during its outbreak in the June 2021 time period were fully vaccinated. The fully-vaccinated individuals had gotten Pfizer’s shots.

Graves Disease

Studies in Mexico and Turkey link the autoimmune thyroid disorder Graves disease to Covid-19 vaccination in numerous female health care workers, including two who were breastfeeding. Pfizer-BioNTech was the vaccine given in Mexico. A Chinese vaccine was given in Turkey. Read more at the link here.

Johnson and Johnson

Update Dec. 16, 2021: CDC warns of risk of blood clots, Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), with Johnson & Johnson vaccine and recommends people get Moderna or Pfizer, instead.

Update Dec. 15, 2021: A CDC analysis of adverse events reported to the Vaccine Safety Datalink system confirms an increased risk of Guillain-Barre paralysis after Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccination.

Update Nov. 7, 2021: A U.S. study finds after 6 mos. Moderna vaccine effectiveness drops to 60%. Pfizer drops to 49%. J&J drops to 13%. Last yr, FDA’s Dr. Hahn said FDA wouldn’t authorize vaccines that weren’t at least 50% effective.

Update Oct. 2021: A study finds link between Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine and Guillain-Barre paralysis.

Updated Oct. 6, 2021: Slovenia has temporarily halted Johnson & Johnson after the stroke death of a 20 year old woman.

Updated Oct. 3, 2021: The European Medicines Agency recommended that blood clotting in deep veins and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a bleeding disorder caused by the body mistakenly attacking platelets, be added as adverse reactions to Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Update Sept. 19, 2021: All brands of Covid-19 vaccines are associated in changes in menstrual cycles of women, according to a British study.

Biologically plausible mechanisms linking immune stimulation with menstrual changes include immunological influences on the hormones driving the menstrual cycle or effects mediated by immune cells in the lining of the uterus, which are involved in the cyclical build-up and breakdown of this tissue. Research exploring a possible association between covid-19 vaccines and menstrual changes may also help understand the mechanism.

Menstrual changes after covid-19 vaccination

Update Sept. 9, 2021: An August 10 study in JAMA Cardiology urged caution in giving Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine to certain high risk patients due to the vaccine link to a serious blood disorder: thrombocytopenia with thrombosis. “One of the devastating manifestations of this syndrome, termed vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), is cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST),” say the study authors.

Read the study here.

Update July 22, 2021: The European Union added Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune paralysis disorder, as a possible side effect from Johnson and Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine.

Update July 12, 2021: The FDA added warnings about Guillain-Barre autoimmune paralysis, in which the immune system attacks the body’s nerves, after Johnson and Johnson vaccine. According to reports, the cases have primarily been reported about two weeks after vaccination, mostly in men, and “any aged 50 and older.”

The Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine was temporarily removed from the market in the U.S. on April 16, 2021 while health officials studied reports of blood clot injuries.

Updated Aug. 4: A new, independent study of medical records found the incidences of myocarditis and pericarditis are more than five times more common than CDC reported.

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine was allowed back on the market April 27, 2021 with new warnings about the disorder.

Swedish health officials determined that people under age 65 should not get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine due to reports of blood clots.

An editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association recommended women under age 50 avoid the Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine due to concerns about blood clots: a blood disorder known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) with thrombocytopenia following the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

On June 11, the European Union’s drug regulator announced it will not use batches of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine that were made at a Baltimore, Maryland-based plant around the time that cross-contamination manufacturing problems were reported at the facility.

Anonymous sources claimed that up to 60 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine had to be thrown out. But the FDA issued a news release saying that two batches from the Baltimore plant were safe to use. The FDA said “several other batches are not suitable for use, but additional batches are still under review.”

Denmark banned the Johnson and Johnson vaccine altogether saying “the benefits of using the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson do not outweigh the risk of causing the possible adverse effect in those who receive the vaccine”.

AstraZeneca (not given in the U.S.)

Capillary Leak Syndrome

The European Medicines Agency required Capillary Leak Syndrome to be added to the warning label of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine.

Update Sept. 19, 2021: All brands of Covid-19 vaccines are associated in changes in menstrual cycles of women, according to a British study.

Biologically plausible mechanisms linking immune stimulation with menstrual changes include immunological influences on the hormones driving the menstrual cycle or effects mediated by immune cells in the lining of the uterus, which are involved in the cyclical build-up and breakdown of this tissue. Research exploring a possible association between covid-19 vaccines and menstrual changes may also help understand the mechanism.

Menstrual changes after covid-19 vaccination

Update: Sept. 9, 2021: An August 10 study in JAMA Cardiology urged caution in giving AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to certain high risk patients due to the vaccine link to a serious blood disorder: thrombocytopenia with thrombosis. “One of the devastating manifestations of this syndrome, termed vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), is cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST),” say the study authors.

Read the study here.

The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has been linked to a dangerous disorder involving blood clots with low blood platelets.

On April 7, 2021: The European Medicines Agency says it made the association after it analyzed 62 cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and 24 cases of splanchnic vein thrombosis reported in the EU drug safety database (EudraVigilance) as of March 22, 2021, 18 of which were fatal.

In Spain, the AstraZeneca shot has been restricted in people under age 60 due to reports of blood clots in younger people.

Bulgaria, Iceland and Norway halted AstraZeneca shots due to blood issues or impact on frail. Iceland, and perhaps some others, reinstated it in people over age 70 and, perhaps, in some over age 60.

Austria, Italy and Romania banned certain “lots” or batches of the AstraZeneca shots.

Denmark stopped using the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine altogether after investigations into blood clots.

The Italian government recently restricted AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to adults over age 60 after a teenager who got the shot died from a rare form of blood clotting. Eighteen-year-old Camilla Canepa died after getting vaccinated May 25, 2021.

Several other European countries have also stopped giving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people below a certain age, usually ranging from 50 to 65.

Several Brazilian states suspended use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for pregnant women in May 2021 after a pregnant woman died after getting vaccinated. The decisions follow the recommendation of the country’s National Health Surveillance Agency, which recommended “immediate suspension” of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for pregnant women after results of vaccine adverse events monitoring in the country.

Numerous case reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome paralysis after Covid-19 vaccine have prompted scientists to warn that “all physicians” should be “vigilant in recognizing Guillain-Barré syndrome in patients who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine… our observations suggest that this clinically distinct [Guillain-Barré syndrome] variant is more severe than usual and may require mechanical ventilation.” In the U.K., scientists flagged “bifacial weakness and normal facial sensation in four men between 11 and 22 days after their first doses of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.” A case has also been reported in a patient who got the Pfizer vaccine. In India, there are reports of seven severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome 10 to 14 days after the first dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Six were women, all had facial paralysis, “all progressed to quadriplegia, and six required respiratory support. Patients’ ages ranged from 43 to 70. Four developed other cranial neuropathies, including abducens palsy and trigeminal sensory nerve involvement.”

Guillain-Barre syndrome has been reported after other vaccinations. The cause is believed to be damage to the immune system. The disorder can be extremely serious and can lead to total paralysis with dependence on artificial respiration. Even those who recover may have serious muscle wasting and may have to slowly teach the body to relearn most every normal task, such as walking. One in 20 cases is fatal.

Austria: Banned certain “lots” or batches of AstraZeneca shots.

Brazil: Several Brazilian states suspended use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for pregnant women in May 2021 after a pregnant woman died after getting vaccinated. The decisions follow the recommendation of the country’s National Health Surveillance Agency, which recommended “immediate suspension” of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for pregnant women after results of vaccine adverse events monitoring in the country.

Updated Oct. 23, 2021: A study of AstraZeneca vaccine (not used in the U.S.) finds 30% preterm birth rate for pregnant women vs. 0% in the control group. (The study was done in women in Brazil, the UK and S. Africa)

Bulgaria: Bulgaria, Iceland and Norway halted AstraZeneca shots for a time due to blood issues or impact on frail. Iceland, and possibly others, reinstated it in people over age 70 and, perhaps, in some over age 60.

Denmark: stopped using the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine altogether after investigations into blood clots.

Updated Oct. 6, 2021: Sweden and Denmark have halted use of Moderna in people under age 30 due to increased risk of heart injuries such as myocarditis.

European Union: Updated Nov. 13, 2021: The European Medicines Agency announced a review of Moderna vaccine and a possible link to Capillary Leak Syndrome, “a rare disorder involving repeated leaks of large amounts of plasma from blood vessels into nearby body cavities and muscles. The condition—known as Clarkson’s disease—can result in a sharp drop in blood pressure that can lead to organ failure or even death.”

Earlier in the year, the EMA required Capillary Leak Syndrome to be added to the warning label of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine (which is not used in the U.S.)

Oct. 3, 2021: The European Medicines Agency recommended that blood clotting in deep veins and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a bleeding disorder caused by the body mistakenly attacking platelets, be added as adverse reactions to Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The ITP disorder is also linked to the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines, which aren’t currently used in the US..

July 22, 2021: The European Union added Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune paralysis disorder, as a possible side effect from Johnson and Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine.

The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine (not currently approved in the U.S.) has been linked to a dangerous disorder involving blood clots with low blood platelets. On April 7, 2021, the European Medicines Agency says it made the association after it analyzed 62 cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and 24 cases of splanchnic vein thrombosis reported in the EU drug safety database (EudraVigilance) as of March 22, 2021, 18 of which were fatal.

On June 11, the European Union’s drug regulator announced it will not use batches of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine that were made at a Baltimore, Maryland-based plant around the time that cross-contamination manufacturing problems were reported at the facility.

Several European countries have stopped giving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people below a certain age, usually ranging from 50 to 65.

Numerous case reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome paralysis after Covid-19 vaccine have prompted scientists to warn that “all physicians” should be “vigilant in recognizing Guillain-Barré syndrome in patients who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine… our observations suggest that this clinically distinct [Guillain-Barré syndrome] variant is more severe than usual and may require mechanical ventilation.” In the U.K., scientists flagged “bifacial weakness and normal facial sensation in four men between 11 and 22 days after their first doses of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.” A case has also been reported in a patient who got the Pfizer vaccine. In India, there are reports of seven severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome 10 to 14 days after the first dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Six were women, all had facial paralysis, “all progressed to quadriplegia, and six required respiratory support. Patients’ ages ranged from 43 to 70. Four developed other cranial neuropathies, including abducens palsy and trigeminal sensory nerve involvement.”

Guillain-Barre syndrome has been reported after other vaccinations. The cause is believed to be damage to the immune system. The disorder can be extremely serious and can lead to total paralysis with dependence on artificial respiration. Even those who recover may have serious muscle wasting and may have to slowly teach the body to relearn most every normal task, such as walking. One in 20 cases is fatal.

Finland: Updated Oct. 7, 2021: Finland joins Sweden and Denmark in pausing use of Moderna in men 30 and under due to heart issues after a Nordic study found that men under the age of 30 were at a higher risk of developing myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.

Hong-Kong: Updated Aug. 17: An analysis in Hong Kong shows risk of Bell’s palsy is higher with CoronaVac (Sinovac Biotech) shot, a vaccine formulation not currently used in U.S. Bell’s palsy is facial paralysis, muscle twitching, or weakness. It may include change in taste, and pain around the ear, increased sensitivity to sound known as hyperacusis. An adverse event analysis of U.S. reports shows 4,154 Bell’s Palsy after Covid-19 vaccination.

Iceland: Halted AstraZeneca shots due to blood issues in March, then reinstated it for people over age 70 and perhaps some over age 60.

Updated Oct. 10, 2021: Iceland joins Finland, Sweden and Denmark in pausing Moderna due to increased heart issues such as myocarditis and pericarditis. While some of the countries are permitting Moderns in people over age 30, Iceland is not permitting its use at all, currently.

India: Numerous case reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome paralysis after Covid-19 vaccine have prompted scientists to warn that “all physicians” should be “vigilant in recognizing Guillain-Barré syndrome in patients who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine… our observations suggest that this clinically distinct [Guillain-Barré syndrome] variant is more severe than usual and may require mechanical ventilation.” In the U.K., scientists flagged “bifacial weakness and normal facial sensation in four men between 11 and 22 days after their first doses of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.” A case has also been reported in a patient who got the Pfizer vaccine. In India, there are reports of seven severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome 10 to 14 days after the first dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Six were women, all had facial paralysis, “all progressed to quadriplegia, and six required respiratory support. Patients’ ages ranged from 43 to 70. Four developed other cranial neuropathies, including abducens palsy and trigeminal sensory nerve involvement.”

Guillain-Barre syndrome has been reported after other vaccinations. The cause is believed to be damage to the immune system. The disorder can be extremely serious and can lead to total paralysis with dependence on artificial respiration. Even those who recover may have serious muscle wasting and may have to slowly teach the body to relearn most every normal task, such as walking. One in 20 cases is fatal.

Israel: The Israeli Ministry of Health announced it’s monitoring for heart inflammation after Pfizer’s vaccine due to reports of problems.

Announced that about half of the adults infected with Covid-19 during its outbreak in the June 2021 time period were fully vaccinated. The fully-vaccinated individuals had gotten Pfizer’s shots.

Update Aug. 24, 2021: In highly-vaccinated Israel, recognition that vaccination likely does not confer protection beyond a few months, the country has reimagined its vaccine passports. They will only apply to people who have had three shots, and only be good for a six month period of time.

Updated Sept. 9 2021: The Pfizer COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was found to be associated with a threefold increased risk of myocarditis, according to a real-world case-control study from Israel. “Vaccination had a strong association with an increased risk of myocarditis as well as increased risks of lymphadenopathy [swelling or inflammation of lymph nodes], appendicitis, and herpes zoster infection.”

Italy: Restricted AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to adults over age 60 after a teenager who got the shot died from a rare form of blood clotting. Eighteen-year-old Camilla Canepa died after getting vaccinated May 25, 2021.

Banned certain “lots” or batches of the AstraZeneca shots.

Mexico: Studies in Mexico and Turkey link the autoimmune thyroid disorder Graves disease to Covid-19 vaccination in numerous female health care workers, including two who were breastfeeding. Pfizer-BioNTech was the vaccine given in Mexico. A Chinese vaccine was given in Turkey. Read more at the link here.

Norway: Halted AstraZeneca shots. Cautioned use of the vaccine in “very frail elderly patients” after nearly two dozen deaths.

“There is a possibility that these common adverse reactions, that are not dangerous in fitter, younger patients and are not unusual with vaccines, may aggravate underlying disease in the elderly,” said Steinar Madsen, medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency.

Romania: Banned certain “lots” or batches of the AstraZeneca shots.

Slovenia: Updated Oct. 6, 2021: Slovenia has temporarily halted Johnson & Johnson after the stroke death of a 20 year old woman.

South Africa: Updated Oct. 23, 2021: A study of AstraZeneca vaccine (not used in the U.S.) finds 30% preterm birth rate for pregnant women vs. 0% in the control group. (Study done in women in S. Africa, UK, and Brazil.)

Spain: The AstraZeneca shot has been restricted in people under age 60 due to reports of blood clots in younger people.

Sweden: Health officials determined that people under age 65 should not get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine due to reports of blood clots.

Updated Oct. 6, 2021: Sweden and Denmark have halted use of Moderna in people under age 30 due to increased risk of heart injuries such as myocarditis.

Taiwan: Updated Nov. 14, 2021: Taiwan’s health minister announced temporary suspension of the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine for children due to concerns about myocarditis heart inflammation. Pfizer is the vaccine given in Taiwan.

Turkey: Studies in Mexico and Turkey link the autoimmune thyroid disorder Graves disease to Covid-19 vaccination in numerous female health care workers, including two who were breastfeeding. Pfizer-BioNTech was the vaccine given in Mexico. A Chinese vaccine was given in Turkey. Read more at the link here.

UK: Update Oct. 30, 2021: A UK study finds “Household Secondary Attack Rate for delta infection, regardless of vaccination status, was 26%” and “peak viral load did not differ by vaccination status.”

Update Oct. 13, 2021: Data from the UK finds vaccines are “highly effective,” but effectiveness wanes after as little as 3-4 months.

Update Oct. 23, 2021: A study of AstraZeneca vaccine (not used in the U.S.) finds 30% preterm birth rate for pregnant women vs. 0% in the control group (among women in S. Africa, Brazil, and UK)

Update Sept. 19, 2021: All brands of Covid-19 vaccines are associated in changes in menstrual cycles of women, according to a British study.

Biologically plausible mechanisms linking immune stimulation with menstrual changes include immunological influences on the hormones driving the menstrual cycle or effects mediated by immune cells in the lining of the uterus, which are involved in the cyclical build-up and breakdown of this tissue. Research exploring a possible association between covid-19 vaccines and menstrual changes may also help understand the mechanism.

Menstrual changes after covid-19 vaccination

Some scientists analyzed adverse event reports and called upon the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to stop the Covid-19 vaccines as “not safe for human use” due to reports of issues with bleeding/clotting, pain, immune system, neurological, loss of sight/hearing/smell speech, and questions about impact in pregnant women.

Update: Researchers in the United Kingdom are studying two additional cases of Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) in women in their 30s after receiving Covid-19 vaccines.

FND is a neurological disorder involving malfunctioning of the nervous system and how the brain and body transmit signals. Symptoms can include limb weakness, paralysis, tremor, spasms, problems walking, speech problems, tingling, vision loss, seizures, fatigue, anxiety, chronic pain, memory symptoms, and blackouts.

An analysis of Covid-19 vaccine adverse events showed hundreds of thousands of reports of such symptoms.

In January, videos showing vaccine patients suffering such symptoms were treated by media outlets such as Wired as if they were fake news and “dangerous” misinformation.

In fact, the videos garnered the attention of scientists who investigated and concluded they were early warnings of what happens to some who get Covid-19 vaccines.

The newest cases are outlined in the journal Neurology and include:

A 38-year old woman who got her first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine and quickly developed weakness around her ear, mouth, left arm and leg. She went to the ER the next day and was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy or a transient ischemic attack. Problems continued months later, including memory issues, and she was diagnosed with FND.
A 36-year-old woman who got her second dose of Moderna and quickly noticed weakness in right hand and right leg limping. A day later she reported severe leg heaviness, fatigue, movement difficulties. After physical therapy her right-side weakness improved but she awoke weeks later with left-side weakness, tightness and heaviness in neck, difficulties with daily living, rapid muscle fatigue, dragging right foot, and tremor. She was diagnosed with FND.

United States: Update Dec. 16, 2021: CDC warns of risk of blood clots, Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), with Johnson & Johnson vaccine and recommends people get Moderna or Pfizer, instead.

Update Dec. 15, 2021: A CDC analysis of adverse events reported to the Vaccine Safety Datalink system confirms an increased risk of Guillain-Barre paralysis after Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccination.

Update Oct. 2021: A study finds link between Johnson and Johnson Covid-19 vaccine and Guillain-Barre paralysis.

Update Nov. 21, 2021: An analysis presented at the American Heart Association and published in the journal Cardiology warns of a “dramatic” increase in heart risk for most people who got Covid-19 RNA vaccine.

Update Nov. 7, 2021: A U.S. study finds after 6 mos. Moderna vaccine effectiveness drops to 60%. Pfizer drops to 49%. J&J drops to 13%. Last yr, FDA’s Dr. Hahn said FDA wouldn’t authorize vaccines that weren’t at least 50% effective.

Update Oct. 4, 2021: A study by university and NIH scientists in the U.S. finds Pfizer vaccine antibodies disappear after about 7 months in many patients.

Update Sept. 12, 2021: A study of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines finds teenage boys are six times more likely to suffer heart issues from Covid-19 vaccination than from Covid. (However, in both instances, the risk is considered slight.)

Update Sept. 9, 2021: An August 10 study in JAMA Cardiology confirms the previously identified Pfizer vaccine’s myocarditis (heart inflammation) risk in young boys.

Read the study here.

Update Sept. 4, 2021: Acute CNS Demyelination and Multiple Sclerosis: A new study in Journal of Neurology examines possible links between Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and acute Central Nervous System (CNS) demyelination, including Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Demyelinating diseases damage the protective covering surrounding nerve fibers in the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord, causing neurological problems. In the study, four patients had the Pfizer vaccine and three had the Moderna vaccine. Within 21 days of the first or second dose, the patients developed active CNS demyelination of the optic nerve, brain, and/or spinal cord leading to “visual loss, dysmetria, gait instability, paresthesias, sphincter disturbance, and limb weakness.”

Age ranged from 24 to 64 years old. Four patients were ultimately diagnoses with exacerbation of their stable MS.

Two were diagnosed with new cases of MS.

One was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica.

Update Aug. 24, 2021: With evidence of seriously-waning immunity at the five- to six-month mark, CDC is now recommending a third “booster” shot. In highly-vaccinated Israel, recognition that vaccination likely does not confer protection beyond a few months, the country has reimagined its vaccine passports. They will only apply to people who have had three shots, and only be good for a six month period of time.

Update Aug. 16, 2021: Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE) (read more here). According to studies:

Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE) can make vaccinated people more susceptible to serious infection from the virus
“ADE may be a concern” for those who have been vaccinated for Covid-19
With ADE, after people get vaccinated for an initial virus, infection by a subsequent variant or strain of the virus can result in “increased viral replication and more severe disease, leading to major safety risks”
ADE can also “occur when neutralizing antibodies (which bind the virus and stop it from causing infection) are present at low enough levels that they don’t protect against infection. Instead, they can form immune complexes with viral particles, which in turn leads to worse illness”
This concern was initially described by some scientists who were subsequently banned from media platforms that incorrectly claimed the scientists were disseminating disinformation

Update Aug. 4, 2021: A new, independent study of medical records found the incidences of myocarditis and pericarditis are more than five times more common than CDC reported.

Update July 12, 2021: The FDA added warnings about Guillain-Barre autoimmune paralysis, in which the immune system attacks the body’s nerves, after Johnson and Johnson vaccine. According to reports, the cases have primarily been reported about two weeks after vaccination, mostly in men, and “any aged 50 and older.”

In late June, the first case of a blood clot disorder called “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia” after an RNA double-dose vaccine was been reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The case was that of a 65-year-old man who developed symptoms ten days after his second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Because the blood clot disorder was not previously warned about in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, doctors treated the patient with heparin, the very drug that’s not supposed to be used in post-vaccine patients suffering from the disorder because it could actually worsen the condition.

Dr. Peter McCullough, cardiologist and Vice Chief of Medicine at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, has called for a halt to vaccinating 30-year olds due to “no clinical benefit” and safety concerns.

A petition of scientists led by Linda Wastila, Professor, Pharmaceutical Health Services Research University of Maryland School of Pharmacy is calling for Covid-19 vaccines to be disapproved.

The Food and Drug Administration has added a new warning to Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines about risk of heart inflammation.

As of June of 2021, CDC said that more than 1,200 cases of heart inflammation (myocarditis of pericarditis) in young people had been reported after Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccination.

More than half were after the second dose.
Most of the injuries are in males under age 30.

Myocarditis and Other Cardiovascular Complications of the mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccines [Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna] in a number of patients are described in a scientific article:

Two patients with clinically suspected myocarditis
One patient with stress cardiomyopathy
Two patients with pericarditis

According to the research:

The two patients with clinically suspected myocarditis were otherwise healthy young men who presented with acute substernal chest pressure and/or dyspnea after receiving the second dose of the vaccine and were found to have diffuse ST elevations on electrocardiogram (ECG), elevated cardiac biomarkers and inflammatory markers, and mildly reduced left ventricular (LV) function on echocardiography. Both patients met the modified Lake Louise Criteria for acute myocarditis by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.
A case of stress cardiomyopathy occurred in a 60-year-old woman with known coronary artery disease (CAD) and previously normal LV function, who presented with new exertional symptoms, ECG changes, and apical akinesis following the second dose of the vaccine.
The two patients with pericarditis who presented with chest pain, elevated inflammatory markers, and pericardial effusions after receiving the vaccine.