FORECASTING ON COVID-19 MRNA VACCINES TURNS TRUE!

Synergia Foundation had cautioned about the risk of using mRNA technology in early 2020, before the launch of the two leading mRNA vaccines in the western hemisphere.

We at Synergia Foundation cautioned about the risk of using mRNA technology in early 2020, before the launch of the two leading mRNA vaccines in the western hemisphere. Nevertheless, nearly two to three years and billions of doses later, the adverse reactions are being recognized in multiple studies.

Vaccines are indispensable tools in disease prevention, and the global health milestones attained by immunization are phenomenal. However, with the evolution of transformative manufacturing technology, newer platforms are being tried and fast-tracked during pandemics or outbreaks.

Though vaccines have become safer and more effective, the advent of mRNA technology heralds a new era in vaccine science. Meanwhile, the long-term consequences of mass vaccinations are increasingly observed through pharmacovigilance in countries where COVID-19 vaccines have been based on mRNA technology. Currently, there are two classes of mRNA vaccines, the monovalent one (based on the Wuhan strain) and the bivalent one (based on the Wuhan and Omicron strain).

We at Synergia Foundation cautioned about the risk of using mRNA technology in early 2020, before the launch of the two leading mRNA vaccines in the western hemisphere. Nevertheless, nearly two to three years and billions of doses later, the adverse reactions are being recognized in multiple studies.

There are some simple reasons why mRNA technology is less predictable; the mRNA vaccines generate vaccine antigens that are systemically distributed, unlike conventional vaccines. This can lead to unforeseen consequences.

Let us look at a well-known adverse reaction, myocarditis, or heart inflammation post-mRNA vaccination. The vaccine antigen, like the viral S protein, can induce adverse reactions through inflammation. Higher levels of free circulating S protein are often detected in the blood of people who develop myocarditis after mRNA vaccination. An increase in the inflammation of the heart also makes it prone to sudden cardiac events. Myocarditis is one of the few adverse reactions observed post-mRNA vaccination; however, it remains well-documented. The mRNA technology has opened the way for mass vaccination during pandemics. A plethora of candidate vaccines for HIV, EBV, and other viral diseases have been possible due to mRNA technology.

However, we need safer approaches while designing a tool for mass utilization. Traditional subunit vaccines, inactivated whole virion vaccines, etc., have proven safe and effective. Though there is a lot of promise with mRNA technology, the adverse reactions, population-level consequences, and the phenomenal cost of production cannot be overlooked.

In medicine and science, the solution to a problem should not be more precarious than the problem itself. This dictum applies well to the case of mRNA vaccines; though they appear futuristic and promising, the serious adverse reactions cannot be ignored.

At the same time, when safer alternatives are available, it would be prudent to choose them instead. Newer certainly doesn’t mean better; in the COVID crisis, we have found older drugs and molecules work much better than newer ones.

We at Synergia Foundation were able to predict the repertoire of adverse events for a new biological, like an mRNA vaccine. As we translate the novel findings of cutting-edge research into public health practice, we need to approach it with caution. In science, the negative consequences of any new technology affect the population the most. It would be a scientific and social imperative to mitigate it at every possible stage.