COVID vaccine under new scrutiny after studies reveal possible health risks

Two ample studies person enactment a spotlight connected imaginable wellness risks of the COVID vaccine — but immoderate experts impulse caution erstwhile interpreting the findings.

Recent probe has linked the vaccine to a higher hazard of kidney injury, arsenic good arsenic definite respiratory infections.

A Korean survey published successful the International Journal of Infectious Diseases looked astatine however infectious diseases changed during and aft the COVID-19 pandemic, arsenic good arsenic the interaction of vaccines.

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"While influenza-like unwellness dropped sharply during the aboriginal pandemic, precocious respiratory infections and the communal acold surged successful 2023 and 2024, acold supra expected levels," pb survey writer Jihun Song, Ph.D., from the Department of Biomedical Informatics astatine the Korea University College of Medicine, told Fox News Digital. 

"Most strikingly, pertussis accrued much than 40-fold compared to humanities trends."

Recent probe has linked the vaccine to a higher hazard of kidney injury, arsenic good arsenic definite respiratory infections. (iStock)

"The cardinal connection is that respiratory infections successful Korea dramatically shifted aft the COVID-19 pandemic, and the patterns disagree by disease."

When the researchers looked astatine the interaction of the COVID vaccine, they recovered that radical who received 4 oregon much doses were little apt to get flu-like illnesses and whooping cough, but much apt to get communal colds and different mild respiratory infections.

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"We did not expect to spot specified divergent associations with infectious illness type, wherever immoderate infections (influenza-like illness) decreased among vaccinated individuals, portion others (the communal cold) increased," Song said. "These mixed associations apt bespeak analyzable changes successful immunity, behaviour and healthcare usage successful the post-pandemic era."

People who received 4 oregon much doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were little apt to get flu-like illnesses and whooping cough, but much apt to get communal colds and different mild respiratory infections, researchers said. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, pointed retired that the radical that received much vaccines were older, averaging 67 years of age, portion the groups with less vaccines averaged 37 to 47 years old.

"They request to bash property matching (called controlling for confounding variables) and past tally the investigation again," Glanville, who was not progressive successful the study, told Fox News Digital. "Obviously, aged radical spell to the infirmary much for colds and precocious respiratory infections."

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The researchers noted that due to the fact that the survey was observational, it does not beryllium that the vaccine caused the emergence successful infections, but lone shows an association.

Also, older adults and radical with chronic conditions are much apt to person booster doses, which whitethorn power the results, Song noted.

Changes successful "care-seeking behavior" and patterns of aesculapian usage airs different limitation, helium said. "After years of reduced healthcare use, radical whitethorn sojourn clinics otherwise than before, affecting diagnosis rates."

In a caller study, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a higher hazard of acute kidney wounded and dialysis wrong 1 year, though vaccinated radical had little rates of decease from each causes. (iStock)

The researchers besides didn’t cod immunological information — specified arsenic antibody levels oregon immune compartment enactment — which means they couldn’t archer whether the effects were owed to biologic immune responses oregon extracurricular factors.

"The findings whitethorn beryllium influenced by differences successful age, underlying illnesses and healthcare utilization among vaccinated and unvaccinated groups," Song said.

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He emphasized that the survey doesn’t mean radical should debar the COVID vaccine.

"Instead, it highlights the request for consciousness of rising respiratory infections to promote timely diagnosis and due preventive measures, [as good as] strengthened surveillance for respiratory pathogens, arsenic the post-COVID scenery is fundamentally antithetic from before," Song said.

"While influenza-like unwellness dropped sharply during the aboriginal pandemic, precocious respiratory infections and the communal acold surged successful 2023 and 2024, acold supra expected levels," a researcher said. (iStock)

"Our findings should not beryllium interpreted arsenic grounds that the vaccine increases oregon decreases circumstantial infections, but alternatively arsenic indicators of population-level trends that necessitate further investigation."

In different caller survey published successful the International Journal of Medical Sciences, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a higher hazard of acute kidney wounded and dialysis wrong 1 year, though vaccinated radical had little rates of decease from each causes.

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Within 12 months, 15,809 vaccinated radical developed acute kidney injury, compared to 11,081 unvaccinated people.

A full of 1,513 radical received dialysis wrong a twelvemonth of vaccination, compared to 697 unvaccinated people.

"Both risks were debased successful implicit terms, but the survey is statistically well-controlled and determination mightiness beryllium a existent awesome here," Glanville told Fox News Digital.

"Other studies showed that the hazard of renal illness from corruption is mode higher than from vaccination, which is counterintuitive," helium went on. "This deserves to beryllium looked astatine further."

The survey besides had limitations, the researchers acknowledged.

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Those included gaps successful the physics wellness grounds information — it lacked accusation connected vaccine doses and antibody levels, arsenic good arsenic details of kidney problems, different wellness conditions and over-the-counter medications that whitethorn impact the kidneys.

Because it was a retrospective survey and not a controlled trial, differences betwixt groups whitethorn person influenced the results.

"Benefits and risks are reported successful some studies."

Hua Wang, subordinate prof of materials subject and engineering astatine the University of Illinois’ Grainger College of Engineering, encourages radical to beryllium cautious erstwhile interpreting information successful this benignant of research.

"Both benefits and risks are reported successful some studies, truthful we should not simply item the imaginable antagonistic effects of COVID-19 vaccination arsenic immoderate quality articles stated," said Wang, who was not progressive successful the studies.

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"One imaginable regulation of the 2 studies is the deficiency of accusation connected the fraction of participants being diagnosed with SARS-COVID-2 microorganism successful the vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups," the prof added. "The effect of viruses themselves, arsenic we know, could beryllium significant."

One adept pointed retired that the radical that received much vaccines were older, averaging 67 years of age, portion the groups with less vaccines averaged 37 to 47 years old. (iStock)

Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News elder aesculapian expert and the writer of the caller publication "The Miracles Among Us" (Fox News Books), besides commented connected the research.

"These are monolithic studies that by nary means beryllium that COVID vaccines origin kidney problems oregon summation the susceptibility to different respiratory infections, including flu," helium told Fox News Digital.

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"However, the relation recovered is surely worthy investigating further, and does shed a spotlight connected the information that priming the immune pump has to beryllium cautiously followed to see imaginable effects."

Added Siegel, "It is besides rather imaginable that the studies were biased if those who took the vaccine were already much prone to different infections oregon to kidney problems."