I had plantar warts on the bottoms of my feet ~55 years ago. A podiatrist put acid on the several spots, bandaged my feet, then had me return so he could carve away dead tissue and reapply acid. Rinse, repeat.
Now fast-forward 55 years. Maybe a week after I received my first dose of COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine I noticed a tender spot on my foot that has since progressed to a very-likely plantar wart. Plantar warts are caused by a human papilloma virus (HPV).
Coincidence? Any argument for cause/effect?
Just spitballing here, but as a microbiologist.
As you mentioned warts are caused by a virus. The absence of warts is because viral replication is being suppressed by your immune system. When you get vaccinated, the immune system is supercharged to respond to the vaccine antigens, which it treats as an incoming threat.
It is possible that immune system becomes hyper focused on that immune response and lets up on the brakes on other activities, such as keeping HPV tamped down.
Like I said, just spitballing. Off to go look up possible cites.
Thank you!! That was the kind of reasoning I was thinking about.
Here’s an example of a herpes flare up after getting flu shot. (Haven’t read full article, just the abstract)
“We present a patient who suffered three consecutive yearly HSV-1 CNS episodes (encephalitis, seizure, and retinitis), each within days of his influenza vaccination.”
A single case report with speculation about immune response being diverted towards influenza vaccination is not exactly convincing.
The human immune system has a tremendous amount of reserve which allows it to handle multiple daily challenges from bacterial and viral agents as well as from allergens and other forms of immune stimulus. Getting a Covid-19 vaccine is not going to deplete your immune system.
HIV-positive people are encouraged (by the CDC, for example) to get multiple vaccines although their CD4 counts are low. Low enough, and vaccination may not be as effective, although there isn’t evidence that vaccination in this population predisposes to contracting other infections.
As for warts, they commonly take 2-3 months or more after exposure to develop to a point that they are noticeable. Given the time frame mentioned by the OP, it’s likely infection started well before the Covid-19 shot.
Not sure I claimed it was definitive. Just an interesting example.
Also, the OP wasn’t claiming the infection was new, just the resurgence from viral latency was post infection. Clearly the infection predated vaccination.
Unless it does.
Measles is known to cause “immune amnesia”, which reduces your ability to handle daily challenges from bacterial and viral agents as well as allergens and other forms of immune stimulus (immune suppression). Studies have shown that the existing immune cell population is partly replaced with the measles-specific immune cell population.
Vaccines aren’t special magic: something similar could happen.
By the way:
" Perhaps the best-known characteristic of measles is its extreme contagiousness. The measles virus (MV), a single-stranded (-)RNA virus that belongs to the genus morbillivirus , has only one natural host: humans. MV is extremely transmissible by aerosol droplets; in a room full of exposed people, 90% who are unvaccinated will develop the disease. To complicate matters, this microbe can linger in the air for up to 2 hours.:"
Measles and Immune Amnesia (asm.org)
A full-blown measles infection does indeed cause an extended period of impaired immune response.
But that’s far different from measles vaccination, which doesn’t have such an effect.
“something similar could happen” is not an evidence-based claim.
!!!
Neither was the (worthless) claim that “something similar can’t happen”.
Heh, I thought I’d made an observation that would provide the chance to consider whether or not my two situations were linked in some way. I’m going to go for a walk.
I thought your foot hurt?
I’m the King of irony! (heavy socks help)
