A man in Germany who has received over 200 Covid-19 vaccinations for personal reasons has had his immune system thoroughly examined by researchers. Surprisingly, they found no signs that the extreme number of vaccinations had weakened his ability to fight infections.
The researchers, from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen hospital, were tipped off about the unusual case through newspaper reports. Although over 60 million Germans have been vaccinated against Covid-19, most only a few times, this individual claimed to have received 217 doses, with 134 doses officially confirmed.
“We learned about his case via newspaper articles,” explains Dr. Kilian Schober from FAU’s microbiology institute. “We then contacted him and invited him to undergo various tests in Erlangen. He was very interested in doing so.”
The researchers were curious if exposing the immune system to the Covid vaccine so frequently could cause certain immune cells to become exhausted and less effective over time, as can happen in chronic illnesses. However, their analysis showed the opposite effect.
“The individual has undergone various blood tests over recent years;” explains Schober. “He gave us his permission to assess the results of these analyses…We were able to use these samples to determine exactly how the immune system reacts to the vaccination.”
The hypervaccinated man was found to have high levels of T-cells ready to combat SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing Covid-19. “The number of memory cells was just as high in our test case as in the control group,” says study co-author Katharina Kocher. “Over all, we did not find any indication for a weaker immune response, rather the contrary.”
Crucially, even the 217th vaccine dose given during the study successfully prompted an antibody increase against the virus. And testing indicated his immune defenses against other pathogens remained intact as well.
“Our test case was vaccinated with a total of eight different vaccines, including different available mRNA vaccines,” stated Dr. Kilian Schober. “The observation that no noticeable side effects were triggered in spite of this extraordinary hypervaccination indicates that the drugs have a good degree of tolerability.”
While just a single case, the findings suggest frequent boosting did not overload or fatigue this individual’s immune system. However, Schober notes “Current research indicates that a three dose vaccination, coupled with regular top-up vaccines for vulnerable groups, remains the favored approach. There is no indication that more vaccines are required.”
