German researchers investigated a man they called "over-vaccinated" who allegedly received more than 200 doses of the coronavirus vaccine but showed no significant *** or damage to the immune system.
The results of the study, published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, said the coronavirus vaccine was "well tolerated", although they noted that it was a "special case of overvaccination".
The 62-year-old man came to the attention of researchers when German prosecutors launched a fraud investigation to gather evidence that he had received 130 doses of the coronavirus vaccine in nine months, far exceeding the recommendations of health authorities.
We learned about him through newspaper articles," Killian Schuber, one of the study's authors, said in a statement. "Then we contacted him and invited him to undergo various testing ......He was very interested in it. ”
The man agreed to provide blood samples, including new samples, results from past blood tests, and blood samples that had been cryopreserved in recent years.
The man said he received 217 vaccinations for "personal reasons". No criminal charges were brought by the German authorities.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that older adults receive a second dose of the updated coronavirus vaccine.
Before conducting the study, researchers speculated that receiving so many vaccines might cause fatigue in his immune system. The vaccine produces a type of immune memory cell that is on standby and quickly activates the body's defense system once an infection occurs.
But in fact, the researchers found that the man had more of these immune cells, known as T cells, than the control group that received a standard three-dose vaccination. They have not yet detected fatigue in these cells, saying they are as effective as those who have received a typical amount of coronavirus vaccine.
Overall, we did not find any signs of a weakened immune response, quite the opposite," said Katarina Koch, one of the study's lead authors.
Even at the 217th vaccination, the researchers said that the vaccine was still effective: the man's antibodies to the coronavirus had "increased significantly". (The man insisted on receiving another dose of the vaccine during the study, the researchers said.) They took blood samples to help them determine how his immune system responded. ）
The researchers made it clear that, despite their findings, they "disapprove of overvaccination as a strategy to boost adaptive immunity."
Although they could not find any signs that the man had been infected with the coronavirus, they said they could not determine a causal relationship between his "overvaccination regimen" and avoiding infection.
In Germany, more than 60 million people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, most of whom have received several doses.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month recommended that people age 65 and older receive a second dose of the coronavirus vaccine introduced in the fall because they are more likely to develop severe viral illness.
Vaccination rates have been low since the CDC recommended that people age 5 and older get the updated vaccines — only about 18 of people aged 22 and older have received the updated vaccines. And only about 42 of people aged 65 and older have received the vaccine, the Washington Post previously reported.