Discussion
Quoting from Scorza and Finisterer (2021), “Real world data rather
indicate that the spectrum of side effects to any of the commercially
available SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations is broader than anticipated,
underreported, and played down. Side effects need to be thoroughly
elaborated to draw more real pictures than those frequently sold. Real
world is more unsafe than its propagated image.” The role of vaccines
in inducing autoimmune disease needs to be studied (Chen et al, 2001;
Toussirot and Bereau, 2015;
Principi and Esposito, 2020; Chen
et al, 2022).
If we look closely at the genomes of the coronaviruses that have emerged
from bats and other species, we see that these viruses can readily
recombine amongst each other, in addition to the point mutations we have
seen in Omicron and in other known SARS-CoV-2 variants. Recombination,
we know from influenza, can lead very quickly to much more virulent
variants by picking up components that our immune systems have not
previously seen. SARS-CoV-2 is mutating and recombining rapidly to form
new variants, with some of the variants becoming able to evade the
vaccinated immune system (Pulliam et al, 2021). A “booster” vaccine
against the new Omicron variant is now being designed. Instead of a
vaccine inducing a supranormal antibody response measured in the blood,
broader immunity induced in the respiratory tracts as well as the blood
has been suggested as a new vaccine strategy (Maguire, 2022). This would
mean a vaccine that induces a broader immune response than that simply
aimed at the spike proteins, and delivering the vaccine IM as well as
intranasally. This would elicit an immune response throughout the body,
including the respiratory tracts where the virus first infects and
replicates, and not simply a huge spike of antibodies in the blood. In
this manner, autoantibody production may be limited relative to a
supranormal antibody response elicited from a large antigen introduction
to only the muscle.
The incidence of autoimmune diseases ADs, approximately 3–5%
worldwide, is increasing in westernized societies, as confirmed by
epidemiological studies; these suggest that multiple sclerosis (MS),
type 1 diabetes (T1D), inflammatory bowel diseases (mainly Crohn’s
disease), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), primary biliary cirrhosis,
myasthenia gravis, autoimmune thyroiditis, hepatitis, and rheumatic
diseases are steadily increasing. The geo-epidemiological distribution
of ADs, their correlation with socioeconomic status, and their rapid
increase in developed countries, together with observations in migrant
populations, suggest that environmental factors, rather than genetic
ones, are chiefly driving these evolutionary processes (Mazzuca et al,
2021). Part of the mechanisms underlying the increase in ADs throughout
Westernized societies over the last three decades may be explained by
the increased intestinal permeability induced by industrial food
additives (Fasano et al, 2005). Vaccine induced autoimmune disease needs
to studied at multiple levels, including epidemiologically to understand
it incidence and those who are susceptible, along with mechanistic
studies to understand processes of the diseases, and prevention and
treatment of vaccine induced autoimmune disease.