SARS-Cov-2 Readily Mutates and Thrives in the Vaccinated

SARS-Cov-2 Readily Mutates and Thrives in the Vaccinated
Spike protein illustration. (Shutterstock)
Dr. Peter A. McCullough
John Leake
12/3/2022
Updated:
12/6/2022

A principle of infectious diseases is “antimicrobial stewardship” which involves choosing the right antibiotic for the right patient and never over-prescribing or blanket covering patients who don’t need treatment. Another principle is “narrowing the spectrum” of a drug once the organism is identified by culture or other methods.

These fundamental approaches to the use of antibiotics work to limit the problem of bacterial resistance and the development of “superbugs.” Every year hospitals each produce their antibiogram or report of their common infections encountered and what antibiotics either are effective (organism is sensitive) or ineffective (organism is resistant). In the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic these principles have been applied to the use of monoclonal antibodies and the process explains why various EUA products (e.g., bamlanivimab) were pulled from the market when they were understood to be no longer effective at neutralizing SARS-CoV-2.

This entire thought process has been thrown out the window for COVID-19 vaccines. For 18 months the ancestral strain Wuhan Institute of Virology Spike protein was the featured antigen for Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen, AstraZeneca, and Novavax vaccines. Within a few months, there was mounting evidence that SARS-CoV-2 easily mutated to escape the reach of antibodies generated by the vaccines which would apply to serious invasive illness (IgG and IgM). Because the COVID-19 vaccines have never been demonstrated to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in the nasopharynx, the only theoretical benefit would be for systemic disease.

It has now become apparent that nature has the upper hand over the vaccine manufacturers as SARS-CoV-2 has far greater alacrity.  Because replication can allow changes in genetic code that rapidly allow continued survival, SARS-CoV-2 enjoys a library of ~28k mutations of which ~4.5K are in the receptor binding domain of the Spike protein or the tip of the spear.

Wang’s analysis suggests that future vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2 is hopeless.  The virus is simply too nimble and can manipulate the “binding free energy” between the RBD and its human target the ACE2 receptor.  This means the more vaccinations are delivered the greater the number of mutant stains and the longer the virus will propagate and extend the pandemic. Thus, a key step in ending the pandemic will be termination of mass vaccination.  The virus doesn’t stop until mankind stops.

Dr. McCullough is a practicing internist, cardiologist, and epidemiologist in Dallas, Texas. He studies the cardiovascular complications of both the viral infection and the injuries developed from COVID vaccines. He has dozens of peer-reviewed publications on COVID, multiple U.S. and state Senate testimonies, and has commented extensively on the medical response to the COVID crisis on major media outlets.
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