Adjuvants in COVID-19 vaccines: innocent bystanders or culpable abettors for stirring up COVID-heart syndrome

Abstract

COVID-19 infection is a multi-system clinical disorder that was associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Even though antiviral therapies such as Remdesvir offered modest efficacy in reducing the mortality and morbidity, they were not efficacious in reducing the risk of future infections. So, FDA approved COVID-19 vaccines which are widely administered in the general population worldwide. These COVID-19 vaccines offered a safety net against future infections and re-infections. Most of these vaccines contain inactivated virus or spike protein mRNA that are primarily responsible for inducing innate and adaptive immunity. These vaccines were also formulated to contain supplementary adjuvants that are beneficial in boosting the immune response. During the pandemic, clinicians all over the world witnessed an uprise in the incidence and prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (COVID-Heart Syndrome) in patients with and without cardiovascular risk factors. Clinical researchers were not certain about the underlying reason for the upsurge of cardiovascular disorders with some blaming them on COVID-19 infections while others blaming them on COVID-19 vaccines. Based on the literature review, we hypothesize that adjuvants included in the COVID-19 vaccines are the real culprits for causation of cardiovascular disorders. Operation of various pathological signaling events under the influence of these adjuvants including autoimmunity, bystander effect, direct toxicity, anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS), anaphylaxis, hypersensitivity, genetic susceptibility, epitope spreading, and anti-idiotypic antibodies were partially responsible for stirring up the onset of cardiovascular disorders. With these mechanisms in place, a minor contribution from COVID-19 virus itself cannot be ruled out. With that being said, we strongly advocate for careful selection of vaccine adjuvants included in COVID-19 vaccines so that future adverse cardiac disorders can be averted.

Response to: Van Wyk et al. letter to the editor regarding ‘Autopsy findings in cases of fatal COVID‐19 vaccine‐induced myocarditis’

“… 12 , 13 Additionally, there is now evidence of the deleterious cardiovascular effects induced by COVID‐19 vaccine components beyond the Spike protein, 5 , 6 including mRNA 7 , 8 and adjuvants. 9 While Van Wyk and coworkers state, ‘we believe this review fails to appropriately evaluate and communicate the impact of COVID‐19 vaccination on myocarditis mortality’, they implicate that indeed this fatal complication may have an even larger public health impact in the future as more reports and completed studies are published. We believe these comments and our conclusions are a strong call for continued vaccine safety vigilance and research aimed at mitigating risk of this fatal outcome after COVID‐19 vaccination.…”

“… 8 Along with mRNA and the resulting Spike protein, COVID‐19 vaccine adjuvants may play a role in COVID‐19 vaccine‐induced heart damage as described by Kanuri and Sirrkay. 9 …”