"5 Vaccines You Need After 50". Or Not?

A brief rebuttal.

“Help Protect Your Health as You Age: 5 Vaccines You Need After 50“ (Morning Honey on MSN, 2024.09.25):

“These vaccines will keep you healthy after you've turned 50“

Will they?

1. Shingles: “Herpesviruses reactivation following COVID-19 vaccination: a systematic review and meta-analysis” (European Journal of Medical Research volume 28, Article number: 278). “…In conclusion, our study showed the possible association between COVID-19 vaccination and herpesvirus reactivation. The evidence for VZV and HSV was supported by observational studies.” “WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF SHINGRIX?” (https://www.shingrix.com/side-effects/). “Other potential side effects: An increased risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (severe muscle weakness) was observed after vaccination with SHINGRIX. Fainting can happen after getting injectable vaccines, including SHINGRIX. Precautions should be taken to avoid falling and injury due to fainting”.

2. RSV: “Rare neurological condition is ‘important potential risk’ of Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, FDA says” (CNN, 2023.02.27). “Two people who received Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine during a clinical trial were later diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, and the US Food and Drug Administration has asked Pfizer to conduct a safety study if the shot is approved, according to agency documents released Friday. The cases were confirmed in two adults in their 60s who were among 20,000 vaccine recipients in Pfizer’s Phase 3 clinical trial. One person’s illness had completely resolved after three months, and another was improving after six months. There were no Guillain-Barre cases among people who didn’t receive the shot.”

3. Pneumococcal: “Pneumococcal Vaccination in High-Risk Individuals: Are We Doing It Right?” (Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2016 May; 23(5): 388–395). “Controversy exists regarding the optimal use of the 23-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the protection of high-risk individuals, such as children and adults with immunocompromising conditions and the elderly. The effectiveness and immunogenicity of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) are limited in such high-risk populations compared to the healthy, with meta-analyses failing to provide robust evidence on vaccine efficacy against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) or pneumonia. Moreover, several studies have demonstrated a PPV23-induced state of immune tolerance or hyporesponsiveness to subsequent vaccination, where the response to revaccination does not reach the levels achieved with primary vaccination.”

4. Influenza: “Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality. Influenza Vaccine” (NIH, 2012).

5. COVID-19: “COVID-19 vaccines and adverse events of special interest: A multinational Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN) cohort study of 99 million vaccinated individuals” (Vaccine, Volume 42, Issue 9, 2 April 2024, Pages 2200-2211). “Results: Participants included 99,068,901 vaccinated individuals. In total, 183,559,462 doses of BNT162b2, 36,178,442 doses of mRNA-1273, and 23,093,399 doses of ChAdOx1 were administered across participating sites in the study period. Risk periods following homologous vaccination schedules contributed 23,168,335 person-years of follow-up. OE ratios with LBCI > 1.5 were observed for Guillain-Barré syndrome (2.49, 95 % CI: 2.15, 2.87) and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (3.23, 95 % CI: 2.51, 4.09) following the first dose of ChAdOx1 vaccine. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis showed an OE ratio of 3.78 (95 % CI: 1.52, 7.78) following the first dose of mRNA-1273 vaccine. The OE ratios for myocarditis and pericarditis following BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, and ChAdOx1 were significantly increased with LBCIs > 1.5. Conclusion. This multi-country analysis confirmed pre-established safety signals for myocarditis, pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. Other potential safety signals that require further investigation were identified.”

Choose your poison?