German man vaccinated 217 times: Study shows no immune system harm

Researchers from Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen and Nuremberg studied the case of a 62-year-old German man who vaccinated himself against COVID-19 as many as 217 times, as reported by the BBC. They aimed to investigate the potential consequences of such extreme vaccination. Their findings were published in the journal "Lancet Infectious Diseases."

"We learned about his case through press articles," said Dr. Kilian Schober from the department of microbiology. "Then, we reached out to him and invited him to Erlangen for the study. He was very interested in participating," added the scientist. The man under study reported he received 217 vaccinations for personal reasons. The university has officially confirmed 134 of these vaccinations.

The scientists had concerns that such a high number of vaccine doses might impair the man's immune response. "We suspected that over-stimulation might exhaust some immune cells, such as T lymphocytes, leading to a reduced release of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules," said Dr. Schober.

However, their tests revealed that the 62-year-old's immune system remains fully functional. The studies also found that he has significantly higher concentrations of some immune cells and antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 compared to those who received the standard dose.

Moreover, the tests showed no adverse changes in the man’s immune system's effectiveness against other pathogens. Thus, receiving more than 70 times the recommended vaccine dose seemingly did not harm his immune system.

"The lack of noticeable side effects from hyper-vaccination suggests these vaccines are highly tolerable," stated Dr. Schober. However, he cautioned that this is a single case study, and vaccination with three doses is still the preferred protocol. "There's no evidence to suggest more vaccines are needed," he emphasized.