Post Vac Syndrome: Sick after Corona Vaccination

As of: 01/11/2023 5:08 p.m

Heart palpitations, headaches, chronic fatigue – in rare cases, a corona vaccination can cause long-lasting symptoms. Experts speak of the post-vac syndrome. How many are affected and what helps against it?

Patients have to wait up to nine months for an appointment in the special outpatient clinic at the University Hospital in Marburg. They often report constant headaches and feel exhausted. These are very similar symptoms to long or post-Covid after an infection.

But her symptoms appeared after a corona vaccination. Experts speak of the post-vac syndrome. Alongside the Charité Berlin, the University Hospital in Marburg is one of the main points of contact for patients with post-vac syndrome.

Symptoms like Long Covid

“These are actually identical symptoms to the ones we know from post-Covid patients after an infection,” says Professor Bernhard Schieffer, who heads the special outpatient clinic in Marburg. Difficulty concentrating, blood pressure fluctuations, sudden heartbeat, blurred vision, long-lasting headaches and chronic fatigue are the most common symptoms, as they are in post-Covid patients after an infection.

But the phenomenon is not new. In rare cases, the same symptoms also occur with other vaccinations. Because many people were vaccinated at the same time during the corona pandemic, the individual cases are becoming more visible.

So far there is no evidence that after the corona vaccinations the proportion of long-lasting symptoms would be unusually high. The Paul Ehrlich Institute explains this tagesschau.de and refers to an investigation of international suspected cases from 36 countries.

Cause still unknown

The exact causes of post-vac syndrome have not yet been found. A previous Epstein-Barr virus infection may be reactivated. Schieffer observes an escalating immune system in most patients. “It then takes on a life of its own in the sense of an autoimmune disease,” says the head of the special outpatient clinic. The body is unable to resolve an inflammatory reaction it has caused itself. “Then a spiral always starts, which in the end leads to an exhaustion of the immune system.”

Especially women with mild immunodeficiency are affected. Schieffer hopes that risk groups could be defined in the future.

No uniform definition

After a request from the Union in the Bundestag, the federal government points out that the post-vac syndrome after a corona vaccination has not yet been scientifically defined. The term is sometimes used very differently. Professor Schieffer experiences how much patients suffer until a clear diagnosis is made: “The burden is often lifted,” says the cardiologist. Patients are often not taken seriously for a long time.

The number of people affected is not yet known

Compared to Post Covid after an infection, vaccinated people are affected much less frequently. After infection with the virus are noisy World Health Organization (WHO) affects ten to 20 percent of those infected. In the case of vaccinated people, on the other hand, the number of cases is in the per thousand range, but can only be estimated: “0.02 percent or a little higher,” Schieffer suspects. However, it is only a rough estimate based, among other things, on a report by BioNTech and Pfizer based.

That Paul Ehrlich Institute currently speaks of 0.029 percent of those vaccinated who experience serious side effects. But only a portion of the documented cases could actually be related to post-vac syndrome. In response to a request from the Union faction, the federal government of 943 suspected post-vac syndrome cases registered up to October 31, 2022. Based on the number of people vaccinated, that would only be a rate of 0.001 percent. Much depends on what symptoms after vaccination are attributed to post-vac syndrome.

treatments very different

Taking care of the patients is very difficult. “It needs a real screening,” says Schieffer from the University Hospital in Marburg. His team is trying to stop the inflammatory reaction in the body. Allergy tests, intestinal cleansing and, for example, low-histamine diets are concrete therapy options – depending on the individual patient.

In addition to the special outpatient clinic at the University Hospital in Marburg and the Charité Berlin, many contact points for long-Covid patients can also help with the treatment of post-vac syndrome. There are still no guidelines for the treatment of post-vac syndrome. However, further studies looking for the exact cause are particularly important for this. This could result in further therapeutic approaches. According to the Paul Ehrlich Institute, further studies are being planned.

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