A German man who asserts to have undergone 217 COVID-19 vaccinations underwent scrutiny from researchers. Surprisingly, his immune system demonstrated full functionality, contrary to concerns that repeated vaccinations might overwhelm his innate immunity. This intriguing case has prompted the need for additional investigation, with the findings published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
The 62-year-old from Magdeburg in central Germany deliberately and for private reasons received dozens of vaccines over 29 months. He did this outside a clinical study context and against national vaccination recommendations. His public prosecutor provided official evidence for 134 shots, including eight different vaccines. The man reported no adverse side effects to the numerous jabs, mainly mRNA vaccine doses from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
Scientists from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg could access the man after hearing about him in newspaper articles, and he offered to let them test his blood. They carefully documented all of the vaccinations and found that, although some of the vaccines he took acted differently than expected, his overall cellular immune responses were comparable to those of people who had received three doses.
Until now, it had been unclear what effect hitting the immune system with so many vaccines would have. Some scientists believed that hyper vaccination could lead to what’s known as ‘immune exhaustion,’ in which immune cells become less effective after being repeatedly exposed to the same antigens. The researchers also found that the man’s innate immune cells, such as monocytes and natural killer (NK) cells, showed no signs of exhaustion or impairment and were still capable of activating his adaptive immune response.
After a detailed examination of the immune responses of the NK cells and CD4+ T-effector cells, which activate the adaptive immune response, they observed that both cell types responded to the man’s extensive vaccination schedule in a normal fashion. For example, the man’s NK cells displayed similar dynamic kinetics to those of the control group, and his CD4+ T-effector cells showed no signs of fatigue or diminished functionality.
This unusual case warrants further research on the impact of repeated vaccination on the cellular immunity of individuals. In addition, the results suggest that mRNA vaccines could be used safely in more people than previously thought and that more research is needed on how to use them optimally. The findings from this case are also relevant for the Standing Committee on Vaccination, which develops national vaccination recommendations in Germany. It is investigating whether the mRNA-based vaccines can be used as part of an extended vaccination regimen in pregnant women and children. The Federal Ministry of Health funded the German study, and BioNTech/Pfizer and AstraZeneca supplied the mRNA-based vaccines.