Post vaccination syndrome introduction for practitioners
Post vaccination syndrome refers to the constellation of symptoms experienced by sufferers following vaccination.
- The most common symptoms include fatigue, "brain fog", parathesia, dizzines, and heart issues.
- Most experience multiple symptoms.
- The range of symptoms is extremely diverse. The patient population is highly heterogenous in the combination of symptoms that they experience.
- There may be a relapse/remitting pattern to the severity of symptoms.
- Some/many patients develop new symptoms after the initial onset of post vaccination syndrome.
- For many but not all patients, symptoms dramatically reduce after several months.
Treating these patients can be a challenge because the syndrome is new, there are no established treatments, and the symptoms may be non-specific.
React19 has survey data that covers the various symptoms that patients experience. See https://www.react19.org/post/persistent-neurological-symptoms-patient-survey and click 'download PDF'
Similarities between long COVID (PASC) and post vaccination syndrome
Symptoms overlap heavily between post vaccination syndrome and long COVID / post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC). Patients respond similarly to the same treatments. Because of these similarities, many refer to both patient groups as "long haulers". Both syndromes likely share a common root cause: S1 spike protein. See the etiology page for an overview of the various theories that currently exist.
Biomarkers exist
There are two sets of tests that seem to have high specificity and sensitivity for post vaccination syndrome:
- An inflammatory marker panel developed by IncellDX has found unusual levels of various cytokines in post vaccination patients. These include IFN-γ (interferon gamma), IL-2 (interluekin-2), and CCL4-MIP-1β. The details of this test is described in the paper Immune-Based Prediction of COVID-19 Severity and Chronicity Decoded Using Machine Learning (https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.700782).
- Auto-antibody tests offered by the German lab Cell-Trend seem to find elevated auto-antibody levels in long COVID patients. A paper by Wallukat et al. provides data on long COVID patients versus controls (see https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtauto.2021.100100).
Other biomarkers:
- Bruce Patterson's team has found persistent S1 spike protein in the non-classical monocytes cells of patients. Their findings are described in their monocyte paper (https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.25.449905) and in online presentations by Bruce Patterson (https://youtu.be/O_XX9_IujeY).
- Protein sequencing of persistent S1 spike protein seems to find differences between post vaccination patients and long COVID patients. See the discussion at 23 minutes of this presentation by Patterson: https://youtu.be/O_XX9_IujeY?t=1417
- Microclots. See https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-021-01359-7
Long haulers also experience high rates of symptoms that can be objectively diagnosed without relying on self-reporting by patients. These include POTS, arrhythmias, myo/percarditis, etc.
Differential diagnosis
Post vaccination syndrome has symptoms that overlap with the following illnesses:
- Breast implant illness / silicone implant incompatibility syndrome / and ASIA (autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants).
- Chronic Lyme (“PTLDS”).
- ME/CFS.
- Gulf War syndrome, which affects the participants of the 1991 Gulf war.
- HPV vaccine injury.
- Post viral syndromes from SARS1, MERS, Ebola, etc.
- Long COVID / PASC.
It also shares a few symptoms with thyroid disorders, so thyroid testing may be warranted.