A new condition called “post-vaccination syndrome” has been acknowledged by Yale scientists investigating the long-term after-effects of COVID-19 vaccination.
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The condition is characterised by a variety of troubling symptoms including brain fog, insomnia, tinnitus and heart palpitations, and resembles the condition dubbed “long COVID.”
The symptoms typically develop a day or two after vaccination and can persist for months or even years, worsening over time.
“It’s clear that some individuals are experiencing significant challenges after vaccination. Our responsibility as scientists and clinicians is to listen to their experiences, rigorously investigate the underlying causes, and seek ways to help,” said co-senior author Harlan Krumholz.
The researchers looked at blood samples from 42 patients who experienced symptoms of post-vaccination syndrome and from 22 who did not.
Those with the syndrome were found to have lower levels of true crucial white blood-cell types. They also had lower levels of antibodies against the COVID-19 spike protein, and in some cases higher levels of the spike protein itself.
“We don’t know if the level of spike protein is causing the chronic symptoms, because there were other participants with PVS [post-vaccination syndrome] who didn’t have any measurable spike protein—but it could be one mechanism underlying this syndrome,” said co-senior study author Akiko Iwasaki.
The researchers believe further studies are needed to confirm the study’s findings.
“This work is still in its early stages, and we need to validate these findings,” Iwasaki added.
“But this is giving us some hope that there may be something that we can use for diagnosis and treatment of PVS down the road.”