Why immune state determines whether vaccination helps or harms in Long COVID
Immune dysregulation, spike persistence, and why outcomes diverged
By early 2021, working closely with people with Long COVID, two clear patterns emerged.
A small group improved after vaccination.
A significant proportion worsened.
If vaccination were broadly beneficial for Long COVID, people would have continued to seek further doses to improve symptoms. That didn’t happen. Instead, responses diverged—suggesting that immune state mattered more than vaccination itself.
This fit with a spike-protein–driven immune dysregulation model.
In some individuals, repeated spike exposure may shift immune responses toward IgG4, a tolerance-associated antibody, allowing the immune system to stand down and symptoms to improve temporarily.
But in others—particularly those with macrophage hyperactivation—additional antigen exposure risks locking the immune system into a more activated state, worsening symptoms.
A recent Canadian multicenter study now supports this. Around 30% of people with established post-COVID condition reported symptom deterioration after vaccination. While not proving causality, it strongly reinforces the idea that immune status determines direction of effect.
The lesson is not about being pro- or anti-vaccine.
It is that Long COVID is an immune disorder, and immune-modulating interventions cannot be applied uniformly when regulation has already failed.
The real question now is not whether to stimulate the immune system further, but how to help it return to a normal, balanced state once spike-driven signaling has persisted too long.
That is where the focus must move next.
When you say spike-driven-immune-dysregulation, let us be clear that the spike source is vaccine, repeat vaccine often. This point needs to be there every time the phrase is mentioned. In those 30% where the symptoms had worsened after vaccination, the more appropriate term would be Long Vax, not Long Covid. I also note that you are somewhat reluctant to bring in the term Long Vax in your other presentations also. Long Covid is applicable only to who were infected in 2020 and 2021 (pre omicron era) who remained unvaccinated ever since or those who did not get revaccinated after 2021. Generally, Omicron alone ( without vaccination in its reign) hasn’t caused much after issues in those cohorts. Bulk of the population in the West ( in USA in particular) who have had issues, often prolonged issues, are those with omicron infections with repeat vaccinations. This appears to be most nasty combination, often piling up repeat infections also, as omicron variants kept on appearing at regular intervals. The 30% are largely from this group and what they grappling with is Long vax, rather than Long Covid. Long Covid must be only pure infection sequel. Every thing else is Long Vax. And as in many common allergies when the allergen source is removed, the conditions disappear, here too the spike protein ( mostly from vaccine) dormancy has to be cleared for the other discomforts to disappear.
Thx. again. I stand corrected