In Germany, a man did something incredible to avoid catching COVID-19. He got himself vaccinated against the virus 217 times in 29 months! Scientists were so intrigued by this that they decided to study him and published their findings in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
The man, who is 62 years old, caught the scientists’ attention through newspaper articles. Dr. Kilian Schober from the Institute of Microbiology – Clinical Microbiology, got in touch with him and asked if he would like to come in for some tests to understand more about his health after all these vaccines. The man agreed.
The team from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany explained that vaccines work by teaching our cells how to recognize and fight the virus if we ever come into contact with it. But they also mentioned that if our cells see too much of the vaccine, it could make our immune system weaker and not fight off the virus as well.
Dr. Schober mentioned that sometimes, if a person keeps getting sick with the same thing, like HIV or Hepatitis B, their immune cells can get tired and not work as well. They wondered if getting so many vaccines might cause a similar problem.
However, when the researchers looked closely at the man’s blood and saliva, they found something surprising. The man had more of the T-effector cells, which help fight the virus, than people who had only been vaccinated three times. And these cells were working just as well. His memory T cells, which remember the virus, were also doing great.
Katharina Kocher, one of the main researchers, said they didn’t find any signs that the man’s immune system was weaker. In fact, it seemed to be doing really well.
The scientists also checked to see if the many vaccines had affected his immune system’s ability to fight other diseases, and they found that it hadn’t.
But, the scientists did say that this was just one person’s experience. Other people might react differently, so they still suggest that everyone sticks to getting three COVID-19 vaccines, with extra ones for those who need them, as the best way to stay protected.
