Story at-a-glance –
- Experts have raised warnings about the problematic history of coronavirus vaccines and their propensity to produce antibody‐dependent enhancement (ADE), which could make vaccinated individuals more susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2 or its variants
- An October 2020 paper stressed that “COVID‐19 vaccines designed to elicit neutralizing antibodies may sensitize vaccine recipients to more severe disease than if they were not vaccinated,” and criticized vaccine makers for not clearly informing participants in current vaccine trials of this risk
- Vaccinated individuals do appear to be more susceptible to infection by certain variants of SARS-CoV-2, although it remains to be seen whether they are more prone to serious illness
- Israeli researchers compared 400 individuals who had tested positive for the South African B.1.351 SARS-CoV-2 variant after receiving at least one dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine against 400 unvaccinated individuals who had been infected. Among those who received two doses of the vaccine, the variant was eight times more prevalent than in unvaccinated individuals (5.4% compared to 0.7%)
- By analyzing blood samples, a second study found Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was 6.8 times less effective against the South African B.1.351 variant compared to generic strains of the virus
As soon as vaccine companies announced they were developing a COVID-19 vaccine, doctors, scientists, researchers and other experts raised warnings1,2 about the problematic history of coronavirus vaccines and their propensity to produce antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), which could make vaccinated individuals more susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2 or its variants.
It is also called paradoxical immune enhancement (PIE), which I believe is a more accurate description of what is happening.
Among those issuing early warnings were Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who in my interview with him — featured in “Well-Known Hazards of Coronavirus Vaccines” — recounted previous failed coronavirus vaccine trials in which he said the vaccinated animals died when exposed to the wild virus.
Considering all previous coronavirus vaccine efforts have failed for this reason, it seemed reasonable to suspect that a COVID-19 vaccine might have similar problems, and that such effects might remain hidden for some time since animal testing was bypassed. Recent research suggests such fears might still be warranted, although conclusive evidence that ADE is in fact occurring has not been produced.