A 62-year-old German man who claims to have been vaccinated 217 times against Covid-19 over a period of approximately 2 years and five months had his health examined by researchers at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), in Germany. The research into the effects of hypervaccination was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Monday (4/2).
The case occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic and gained repercussions as the man took the vaccines on his own, outside the context of a clinical study and against the country’s vaccination recommendations.
The German keeps at least 134 proof of vaccination. He received eight different types of immunizations, including the available mRNA ones. Germany opened a fraud investigation against the man, but no criminal charges were brought against him.
Response to 217 vaccines
Upon learning of the case, scientists contacted the man, whose name was not identified, to try to understand how the human immune system reacts to hypervaccination.
Some experts suspected that hoarding doses could fatigue immune cells, making them less effective after they become accustomed to the vaccines’ antigens.
However, tests on the patient’s blood samples collected and stored over the past few years and during the study showed that his immune system is fully functional, without any signs of fatigue.
To researchers’ surprise, some immune system cells and antibodies that act against the coronavirus are present in considerably higher concentrations compared to those in people who received just three vaccines.
“There is an indication that certain types of immune cells (T cells) would become fatigued, causing them to release fewer pro-inflammatory messenger substances. Overall, we found no indication of a weaker immune response, quite the opposite,” the study authors wrote.
The man did not report any side effects after vaccination. The number of memory T cells was also as high in him as in the control group.
Functioning immune system
Other tests indicated that there was no change in the effectiveness of the immune system against other viruses. The researchers believe that hypervaccination did not damage the patient’s immune system.
“The observation that no noticeable side effects were triggered despite this extraordinary hypervaccination indicates that the drugs have a good degree of tolerability”, says one of the study’s authors, Kilian Schober.
Scientists remember that this is a unique case and the results are not enough to draw far-reaching conclusions, much less make recommendations for the general public. “Current research indicates that three-dose vaccination, along with regular complementary vaccines for vulnerable groups, remains the recommended approach. There is no indication that more vaccines are necessary”, they state.
