Four years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus continues to evolve and spread. During a United States congressional hearing addressing vaccine-related injuries, experts highlighted research indicating that the higher the number of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered, the greater the risk of viral infection.
At the United States congressional hearing on Jan. 12, Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiovascular expert, stated that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines contain the genetic code for the virus’ spike protein. The spike protein produced within the human body circulates in the bloodstream, posing risks of blood clots, organ damage, and potential fatality.
In addition to the vaccines’ ability to cause physical harm and pose a threat to life, Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiovascular expert, cited a study from the Cleveland Clinic during the congressional hearing, highlighting that individuals who have not received the vaccine have the lowest risk of contracting COVID-19. Dr. Milhoan remarked, “As you add vaccines, your risk to get COVID goes up. I’ve never seen a vaccine like this. That’s not the basis of vaccines.”
Unexpected Association
The peer-reviewed study published by the Cleveland Clinic in April 2023 observed 51,017 clinic employees over 26 weeks. Among them, 88 percent had received at least one vaccine dose, and 83 percent had received at least two doses. By the end of the study, 26 percent had received a booster shot, with 87 percent receiving the Pfizer vaccine and the remaining individuals having the Moderna.
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The bivalent COVID-19 vaccines approved on Aug. 31, 2022, encode antigens representing the original vaccine and the omicron variants BA.4 or BA.5 lineages.
The research results indicated that when the omicron variants BA.4 or BA.5 became the predominant strains, the overall effectiveness of the bivalent vaccine in preventing COVID-19 infection was approximately 29 percent. When the dominant strain was the BQ lineage, not included in the bivalent vaccine, the effectiveness dropped to around 20 percent. Notably, the bivalent vaccine showed no discernible protective effect when the XBB lineages were dominant.
After analysis, the researchers suggested that the lower-than-expected effectiveness of the bivalent vaccine may be attributed to a significant portion of the population having been previously infected with the omicron variant asymptomatically. The naturally acquired immunity from these cases might already play a role in providing some level of protection against COVID-19.
As of February 2022, about 64 percent of the population aged 18 to 64 and 75 percent of children and adolescents had experienced a previous infection with the COVID-19 virus, with nearly half of these cases attributed to the omicron BA.1 or BA.2 lineages. Due to this substantial percentage of individuals previously exposed to the omicron variants, a significant portion of the population is less likely to derive any meaningful benefit from the bivalent vaccine.
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The Cleveland Clinic’s study also found variations in the risk of contracting COVID-19 based on the number of previously administered COVID-19 vaccine doses. The higher the number of doses received, the greater the risk of COVID-19 infection.
“Cumulative incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for study participants stratified by the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses previously received. Day 0 was 12 September 2022, the date the bivalent vaccine was first offered to employees. Point estimates and 95% confidence intervals are jittered along the x-axis to improve visibility.” This Open Access article contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). Oxford University Press
The researchers stated that this association was unexpected. One simple explanation might be that individuals receiving more vaccine doses had a higher risk of COVID-19 infection. However, while a small subset of individuals might fit this scenario, most were young and eligible to receive three doses or more of the vaccine. In other words, those who received fewer than three doses (constituting 46 percent of the study participants) were not ineligible but instead chose not to receive additional doses.
Additional Studies Reveal the Link Between Vaccination and Infection
The Cleveland Clinic’s research stated that it is not the only study to conclude that a higher number of vaccine doses is associated with a greater risk of contracting COVID-19.
An unadjusted analysis found that, during the peak of omicron transmission in Iceland, individuals who had received two or more vaccine doses were more likely to experience reinfection of COVID-19 compared to those who had received one dose or remained unvaccinated.
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Another large-scale study, after adjusted analysis, found that among those who had previously been infected with omicron, individuals who received three vaccine doses were at a higher risk of reinfection with the omicron variant compared to those who had received two doses.
Another study, through multivariable analysis, suggested that among those who had previously been infected with COVID-19, individuals who received two vaccine doses were at a higher risk of reinfection than those who received one dose.
Additionally, a study published in Vaccine in 2023 involving about 170,000 Danish citizens revealed that individuals who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine reported the highest number of adverse reactions. On the other hand, those who received the second and third doses of the Moderna vaccine reported more adverse reactions than those who received the Pfizer vaccine.
Data compiled by Open VAERS for adverse events reported for the COVID-19 vaccines in the United States showed that, as of Dec. 29, 2023, there were 1,621,120 reports of adverse reactions after vaccination. These included 36,986 deaths, 69,316 cases of permanent disability, 39,216 life-threatening events, 21,335 cases of heart attacks, 28,052 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis, 17,621 cases of Bell’s palsy, 46,622 cases of severe allergic reactions, 16,018 cases of shingles, and 5,086 cases of miscarriage.
The apparent rise in deaths and adverse reactions associated with the vaccines have raised concerns among researchers and health care professionals.
The researchers at the Cleveland Clinic stated that there is much to learn about the protective effects of COVID-19 vaccines. In addition to assessing the vaccines’ effectiveness, it is crucial to investigate whether the continued administration of multiple vaccine doses over time will yield the commonly assumed beneficial effects.
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