— The COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine race have mandated the use of an accelerated vaccine registration protocol. This allowed the use of Pfizer and Moderna, the mRNA vaccines created specifically in the USA. Now it turns out that there is a significant delayed effect after vaccinations. It relates to the material of the synthetic vaccine shell containing polyethylene glycol (PEG). Is this material obsolete in Sputnik V?
“The Sputnik V vaccine uses two adenoviruses, 5 and 26, to deliver inside human cells. These are natural carriers. But the creators of the mRNA vaccines decided to use a synthetic artificial shell made of a polymer – polyethylene glycol (PEG) for delivery.
– What was it supposed to be used for?
– Everyone knows that Unnatural organic polymers such as polyethylene take a long time to degrade. If you bind the protein to this polymer, the protein will also decompose more slowly in the body. Thus, the half-life can be increased. Thus, polyethylene glycol also prevents the rapid destruction of the natural molecule associated with it and its excretion through the kidneys. The method of “stitching” the desired molecule to PEG – the so-called pegylation – appeared in the 70s. For example, a patient has kidney failure. He’s on dialysis – so he’s actually connected to an artificial kidney. The artificial kidney, although good, is far from ideal, so some important components need to be injected continuously. Especially erythropoietin, which is necessary for the formation of red blood cells. If natural erythropoietin is given, it is excreted from the body very quickly. It is also very expensive to manufacture. Therefore, long-lived protein substances have been specially created.
— Did the creators of Moderna and Pfizer want to extend the duration and concentration of the vaccine?
– Not just. Here’s another trick with the immune response. Why do RNA and DNA decompose so quickly in our body? That’s because an excess of RNA and DNA is an anti-inflammatory signal for the immune system. In this case, two tasks are solved at once: the life of the protein is extended and it looks to the body like “polyethylene”, that is, neutral.
Is PEG cheap?
– Cheap and effective. But any polymer structure with repeating patterns (as they are arranged internally) is what can cause adaptive immunity, not innate in this case. This immunity aims to distinguish something repetitive and new that the body has not yet seen. This is how shells of viruses and bacteria often appear to him. Here it recognizes the synthetic shell as usual. Therefore, it gives a signal for antibody production against PEG.
Why didn’t the creators of mRNA vaccines think of this?
– Maybe they thought about it. However, after weighing all the pros and cons, we decided to use PEG as an epidemic was raging outside the window. And while everyone was talking about the fact that Sputnik V could not be promoted indefinitely as immunity to adenoviruses had developed, they understood that it would also be impossible to promote Moderna with Pfizer indefinitely. Because as the number of revaccinations increases, RNA vaccines will be less effective as there will be more antibodies in the body that recognize PEG. But there is another problem that will take decades.
– Will the memory cells store PEG’s memories?
– Yes, and signals for antibody production as soon as they encounter antibodies in the future. And here is the problem: We have a wide variety of pharmaceutical preparations in our clinical practice, where PEG-shell is also used. These are gout drugs, anticancer drugs, chronic hepatitis C and B drugs, anemia in kidney disease, acromegaly and phenylketonuria, hemophilia and rheumatoid arthritis.
– And now the usual “Modern” and “Pfizer” will not be able to accept them?
For millions of people, these drugs may not work well or may not work at all. Also, their use can provoke autoimmune diseases.
– How did the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) overlook this?
“It turned out that they were not competent enough. In addition, manufacturers heavily filter the information they submit to the editor. And let me remind you, officials, not scientists, sit in the FDA.
– Has it turned out that other vaccines using pegylation no longer work?
– It seems so. Antibodies developed against PEG will bind the necessary “stuffing” proteins and therefore inactivate them with a high probability. Or vice versa, but leads to an unexpected peak effect. There is a possibility that this protein complex will be retained in the body for a very, very long time.
– Why?
– This is already connected with the intricacies of the functioning of specific antibodies. But the main “ambush” is the development of autoimmune reactions. “Modern” and “Pfizer” can cause a wave of autoimmune diseases.
– Is this when the immune system for some reason begins to attack perfectly healthy cells?
– Yes, and here this process is quite explainable. First, a person is vaccinated, develops antibodies to PEG. Then he needs erythropoietin and a drug is injected, again created using pegylation. The body already has antibodies to PEG, and now its own protein, erythropoietin, is also “cross-linked” with this polymer. And now the whole structure is perceived by the immune system as foreign. And now the immune system attacks its own healthy cells that produce erythropoietin.
There have been recent reports of spontaneous hepatitis, possibly a delayed effect of RNA vaccines. But of course it can also be viral hepatitis – the details need to be explored.
– What is the way out of this situation?
– No recommendations yet on what to do if you are PEG positive.
– What do you do in similar situations?
“Let’s say a child needs gene therapy and has antibodies to the adeno-associated AAV virus that was chosen by the drug’s creators as a carrier for the protein, then the child is simply off the list, that is, that treatment is not offered to him.
– Does it depend on the level of antibodies? In this case, antibodies to PEG?
– Yes. And if you take a drug with PEG, the antibody level will increase systemically. And at some point, a transition will occur: antibodies will no longer attack the shell, but inside – the active substance of the drug. These are the side effects of Pfizer or Moderna that millions of people vaccinated with mRNA drugs can now get.