{"id":144805,"date":"2022-11-14T17:35:01","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T21:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=144805"},"modified":"2022-11-14T17:43:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T21:43:03","slug":"is-long-covid-the-elephant-in-the-room-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=144805","title":{"rendered":"

Is Long-COVID the Elephant in the Room?<\/i><\/b><\/h3>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

STORY AT-A-GLANCE<\/h3>\n
\n
    \n
  • Long COVID refers to symptoms that persist for four or more weeks after an initial COVID-19 infection. Many are also reporting long COVID symptoms after getting the COVID shot<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Symptoms of long COVID include but are not limited to brain fog, memory problems, headaches, blurred vision, loss of smell, nerve pain, heart rate fluctuations, dramatic blood pressure swings and muscle weakness. The feeling of \u201cinternal electric shocks\u201d are also reported<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The primary difference between post-jab long COVID and long COVID symptoms after infection is that in people who get it from the infection, early treatment was withheld and the resulting infection severe. Post-jab long COVID, on the other hand, can occur either after very mild breakthrough infection or no breakthrough infection at all<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Several different theories about the mechanisms behind long COVID are reviewed, as are treatment options<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Swiss research has found the rate of subclinical myocarditis is hundreds of times more common than clinical myocarditis after mRNA injection, and ALL mRNA shot recipients had elevated troponin levels, indicating they had some level of heart injury, even if they were asymptomatic<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    Long COVID, also known as long-haul COVID, chronic COVID or long-haul syndrome, refers to symptoms that persist for four or more weeks after an initial COVID-19 infection.1<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0However, while this condition has primarily been viewed as a side effect of the actual infection, many are reporting long COVID symptoms after getting the COVID shot as well,2<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0regardless of brand.<\/p>\n

    As reported by Science magazine,3<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0\u201cIn rare cases, coronavirus vaccines may cause long COVID-like symptoms,\u201d which can include (but is not limited to) brain fog, memory problems, headaches, blurred vision, loss of smell, nerve pain, heart rate fluctuations, dramatic blood pressure swings and muscle weakness. The feeling of \u201cinternal electric shocks\u201d are also reported.<\/p>\n

    The primary difference4<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0between post-jab long COVID and long COVID symptoms after infection is that in people who get it from the infection, early treatment was withheld and the resulting infection severe. Post-jab long COVID, on the other hand, can occur either after very mild breakthrough infection or no breakthrough infection at all.<\/p>\n

    Reluctance to Publicly Address Post-Jab Long COVID<\/h2>\n

    In January 2021, National Institutes of Health researchers initiated testing and attempted treatment of patients suspected of having long COVID following their shot, but for unknown reasons the investigation petered out by the end of the year, leaving patients high and dry, without answers.5<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

    According to Science, NIH researchers did continue their work \u201cbehind the scenes,\u201d and other researchers, worldwide, have also started studying the phenomenon. Still, there appears to be extreme reluctance to addressing post-jab long COVID symptoms publicly. Why?<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n

    Dr. Avindra Nath, clinical director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the one leading the NIH\u2019s investigation into long COVID, gives us a clue.<\/p>\n

    \u201cProbing possible side effects presents a dilemma to researchers: They risk fomenting rejection of vaccines that are generally safe, effective, and crucial to saving lives,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Science writes.6<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0\u201c\u2018You have to be very careful\u2019 before tying COVID-19 vaccines to complications, Nath cautions. \u2018You can make the wrong conclusion \u2026 The implications are huge.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    In other words, it\u2019s all about protecting the vaccine industry, which has now merged with and become the experimental gene therapy industry.<\/p>\n

    Meanwhile, the human test subjects are left to suffer \u2014 many of whom don\u2019t even realize that they ARE test subjects. They bought the \u201csafe and effective\u201d and \u201crigorously tested\u201d lies. In Nath\u2019s defense, he tried to publish a case series on about 30 of these patients but medical journals refused to publish it.7<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

    What\u2019s Causing Long COVID?<\/h2>\n

    As for the mechanisms behind long COVID, opinions vary. Research8<\/span>,9<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0presented10<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0by Dr. Bruce Patterson at the International COVID Summit in Rome, in September 2021, suggests monocytes, shown to cause lung damage in patients with acute COVID, are also involved in long COVID.<\/p>\n

    In summary, the inflammatory cytokines that are supposed to trigger T cell activation fail to do so in some people, resulting in an inadequate antiviral response. Instead of T cells \u2014 which are needed to quell the infection \u2014 B cells and a particular subset of monocytes are elevated. As described by HealthRising.org:11<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

    \u201cWhen they used antibodies to look for evidence of coronavirus proteins in the monocytes … they found them \u2014 in spades. Seventy-three percent of the \u2018non-classical\u2019 monocytes in long-COVID patients carried the coronavirus proteins …<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    These types of monocytes have often been thought to be anti-inflammatory, but recent studies show that they can, in some situations, produce pro-inflammatory cytokines. They\u2019re mostly involved in \u2018trash cleanup,\u2019 and the antiviral response …<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The authors believe these monocytes were drawn to coronavirus-infected cells in the blood vessels, where they ingested them, and then put a coronavirus protein on their surface to alert the immune system.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The problem in long COVID occurs when they are drawn to the blood vessels and injure them, or cause the blood vessels to inappropriately dilate.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    These nonclassical monocytes are the only monocytes to carry the CX3CR1 receptor, which when it binds to fractalkine, turns on an anti-apoptotic protein that allows the monocytes to survive longer than usual. It also causes the monocytes to revert from their anti-inflammatory state, and start pumping out pro-inflammatory cytokines.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    These are important steps as most monocytes die within a few days, and having very long-lived (up to at least 16 months) coronavirus protein-carrying monocytes is a crucial aspect of Patterson\u2019s hypothesis …<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    The monocyte binding also triggers the production of VEGF \u2014 which Patterson reports is elevated in almost all long haulers. VEGF then dilates the blood vessels causing, Patterson thinks, feelings of fullness in the head, migraines, and perhaps cognitive problems.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    <\/div>\n

    The Autoantibody Theory<\/h2>\n

    Another theory, put forth by Harald Pr\u00fcss, a neurologist at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Charit\u00e9 University Hospital in Berlin, is that antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein might be causing \u201ccollateral damage.\u201d As reported by Science:12<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

    \u201cIn 2020, while hunting for antibody therapies for COVID-19, [Pr\u00fcss] and his colleagues discovered that of 18 antibodies they identified with potent effects against SARS-CoV-2, four also targeted healthy tissues in mice \u2014 a sign they could trigger autoimmune problems …<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Over the past year, research groups have detected unusually high levels of autoantibodies, which can attack the body\u2019s own cells and tissues, in people after a SARS-CoV-2 infection.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    In Nature in May 2021, immunologists Aaron Ring and Akiko Iwasaki at Yale School of Medicine and their colleagues reported13<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0finding autoantibodies in acute COVID-19 patients that target the immune system and brain; they are now investigating how long the autoantibodies persist and whether they can damage tissues …<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    In a paper Pr\u00fcss and his colleagues are about to submit, they describe finding autoantibodies that attack mouse neurons and other brain cells in at least one-third of those patients.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Researchers are also investigating whether post-jab long COVID might be due to autoantibodies against the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor,14<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0which is the target of the spike protein.<\/p>\n

    Other Working Theories<\/h2>\n

    Other working theories include aberrant immune response caused by persistent activation of a particular subset of T cells,15<\/span>,16<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0particularly in those whose long COVID symptoms include neurological complications.<\/p>\n

    Persistent microscopic blood clots is another theory being worked on by Resia Pretorius, a physiologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.<\/p>\n

    She and her colleagues have published17<\/span>,18<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0preliminary evidence showing microscopic blood clots can linger long after the SARS-CoV-2 infection clears. These clots then interfere with oxygen delivery, which can help explain symptoms such as brain fog.<\/p>\n

    Yet another theory is that the symptoms are caused by residual spike protein lodged in your tissues and organs \u2014 including your gut \u2014 which can take well over a year to clear after a serious infection.19<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0As reported by Medical News Today:20<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

    \u201cResearchers investigated the antigens of SARS-CoV-2 \u2014 the virus that causes COVID-19 \u2014 present in blood plasma samples collected from individuals with long COVID and typical COVID-19 infection.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    They found that one particular SARS-CoV-2 antigen \u2014 the spike protein \u2014 was present in the blood of a majority of long COVID patients, up to a year after they were first diagnosed with COVID-19. In patients with typical COVID-19 infection, however, the spike protein was not detected.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    This finding provides evidence for the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 can persist in the body through viral reservoirs, where it continues to release spike protein and trigger inflammation.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    In an effort to identify long COVID biomarkers, the researchers measured levels of three SARS-CoV-2 antigens: spike protein, the S1 subunit of the spike protein and the nucleocapsid (outer protein coat) of the virus.<\/p>\n

    All three antigens were found in the blood of 65% of the long COVID patients tested, but the spike protein was the most common, and remained elevated the longest. So, in short, a hallmark of long COVID is the long-term presence of spike protein, and spike protein is precisely what the COVID jabs are instructing your cells to create.<\/p>\n

    Granted, the spike protein produced by your cells in response to the shot is genetically altered, so it\u2019s not perfectly identical to the spike protein found on SARS-CoV-2 (which by the way also appears to be manmade), but regardless of their source, the spike protein appears to be a key pathogenic factor.21<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0As such, it makes sense that many COVID jab recipients are reporting long COVID-like symptoms, as their bodies are continually producing them.<\/p>\n

    mRNA Shots Injure Hearts of ALL Recipients<\/h2>\n
    \n