Experts from Yale University have uncovered a new, concerning condition linked to the COVID-19 vaccines. Dubbed “Post-Vaccination Syndrome” (PVS), it not only comes with a host of uncomfortable symptoms—but it also causes persistent biological changes years after injection.
Not only that, the scientists also identified a troubling connection between PVS and the reactivation of a virus known as Epstein-Barr, a dormant agent that resides in most people and causes flu-like symptoms.
“This work is still in its early stages, and we need to validate these findings,” Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, the study’s author, said. “But this is giving us some hope that there may be something that we can use to treat PVS down the road.”
While the study has not been published in its entirety, its initial findings have been enough to scare and anger netizens.
“I can’t believe they forced us to take the shot without fully understanding its long-term effects,” one user wrote.
Scientists discovered a new syndrome linked to the COVID-19 vaccines that causes persistent biological changes and chronic flu-like symptoms
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The findings are the result of research conducted on blood samples collected from 42 people diagnosed with the syndrome and comparing them to 22 control subjects who had the vaccine but had not experienced any post-jab symptoms.
The results showed that those with PVS had different proportions of immune cells compared to the control group, as well as elevated levels of COVID spike proteins years after being vaccinated.
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These proteins were also found in 134 subjects who contracted coronavirus and suffered from it for a long period of time.
The similarities didn’t end there, however, as both groups showed a reactivated Epstein-Barr virus, meaning that patients with PVS were adversely affected by the vaccine and might continue to have their health compromised for years to come.
“That was surprising to find spike protein in circulation at such a late time point,” Dr. Iwasaki said.
Patients suffering from PVS reported experiencing fever, dizziness, and brain fog years after receiving their coronavirus shots
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For many patients, the symptoms of PVS have been life-altering. Such is the case of 32-year-old Sascha Schwartz, a care worker from Germany, who has been fighting the symptoms of the syndrome ever since he was administered an AstraZeneca vaccine.
“I’ve never felt such stark helplessness and powerlessness as I have over the last two years. I feel trapped in my own body and have the feeling that I no longer exist,” Schwartz said in an interview.
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Fever, dizziness, and constant headaches became a part of his daily routine. The worst, he said, is a “brain fog” that makes it impossible for him to concentrate.
“You go on autopilot. It’s like being drained of vitality. It’s like you’re in a stupor, where stimuli no longer register, and you feel electricity in your head,” he shared.
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Making matters worse was the dismissal of several doctors who, according to him, swatted away his complaints as “psychosomatic,” or the product of mental stress.
“It took me six months to find an immunologist who would take me and my complaints seriously,” he recounted, remembering how doctors told him countless times: “This can’t be; the vaccines are safe.”
AstraZeneca was forced to formally admit that their vaccine could, in rare cases, trigger an illness that results in permanent brain damage
Image credits: Sascha Black
The refusal to face the possibility that COVID vaccines came with long-lasting side effects for some people is nothing new for Kate Scott, the representative of a UK group called Vaccine Injured and Bereaved (VIBUK).
“We were pushed into the shadows during the pandemic,” she told the BBC.
“We are an uncomfortable truth, but we are a truth and the truth is for everyone in our group—the vaccine caused serious harm and death.”
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The mother-of-two took matters into her own hands after her husband, Jamie Scott, was left severely disabled by what was confirmed to be Vaccine-Induced Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis (VITT), causing permanent brain damage.
The Scott family sued AstraZeneca in August 2023, and, as a result, the pharmaceutical company was forced to admit in February 2024 that its COVID vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause VITT.”
Image credits: Sky News
The Health Secretary of the United Kingdom, Wes Streeting, took notice of the matter and personally met with Kate, as well as two other women whose relatives were adversely affected by the vaccine, in September 2024.
Streeting is currently working on reforming the country’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), in order to better help those affected by the vaccine’s side effects.
The study’s authors urged doctors to not dismiss patient concerns and to listen to their experiences
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Dr. Harlan Krumholz, the co-senior author of the Yale study and a professor of medicine at Yale, urged a cautious approach to interpreting the findings but acknowledged the severity of the challenges some individuals face after vaccination.
“It’s clear that some individuals are experiencing significant challenges after vaccination,” he mentioned. “Our responsibility as scientists and clinicians is to listen to their experiences, rigorously investigate the underlying causes, and seek ways to help.”
Image credits: Anna Shvets/Pexels (Not the actual photo)
On the other hand, Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, spoke with the Daily Mail to defend the injections, emphasizing that they remain safe for the vast majority of people.
“The vaccines have been given to billions of people at this point, and there were large prospective placebo-controlled studies that didn't show these effects,” he said.
As for the Yale study, the next stages involve understanding how widespread PVS truly is and identifying who might be most at risk.
While the paper is still in its infancy, its findings underscore the importance of further investigation into post-vaccination symptoms.
Netizens were left feeling powerless and angry and took to social media to share their experiences
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“My coworker's 28-year-old son has the heart of an eighty-year-old and cannot walk up more than five steps without stopping to rest for about 3-5 minutes to catch his breath,” one user wrote.
“I’m a 72-year-old who runs 5K regularly without difficulty. My stamina has now gone since Covid. I struggle to run and get breathless and tired very easily. This has nothing to do with age,” another shared.
“I got most of the above symptoms and my life has deteriorated so badly. I try most things to negate the damage, but who knows how much damage has actually been done?!” one reader said.
“Most of us already knew this, as evidence from independent studies showed this to be the case over and over again,” another argued.
“But if anyone even dared to mention it to the media, they were called 'conspiracy theorists.'”
"Heartbreaking." People were shocked by the study's findings and sympathized with the suffering of patients with PVS
