Rolf Marschalek, a professor at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, claims he's identified the cause of rare blood clots linked to the COVID-19 vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.
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Marschalek said his research zeroed in on the vaccines' adenovirus vectors, which "send the spike protein into the cell nucleus rather than the cytosol fluid inside the cell where the virus normally produces proteins."
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, on the other hand, don't enter the nucleus.
The theory is that once the spike protein enters the nucleus, some parts splice and create mutant versions. Hypothetically, those mutant proteins are then "secreted by cells into the body" where they may trigger potentially fatal blood clots.
The research, Marschalek argues, suggests the vaccine developers could "modify the sequence of the spike protein" so that it doesn't split apart. He said Johnson & Johnson has already contacted his lab "to ask for guidance," though other scientists are urging patience.
"During the last months many countries have started the immunization of millions of people by using vector-based vaccines. Unfortunately, severe side effects became overt during these vaccination campaigns: cerebral venous sinus thromboses (CVST), absolutely rare under normal life conditions, were found as a severe side effect that occured 4-14 days after first vaccinations.
"Besides CVST, Splanchnic Vein Thrombosis (SVT) was also observed. This type of adverse event has not been observed in the clinical studies of AstraZeneca, and therefore led immediately to a halt in vaccinations in several european countries. These events were mostly associated with thrombocytopenia, and thus, similar to the well-known Heparin-induced thromboÂcytopenia (HIT).
"Meanwhile, scientists have proposed a mechanism to explain this vaccine-induced thrombocytopenia. However, they do not provide a satisfactory explanation for the late thromboembolic events.
"Here, we present data that may explain these severe side effects which have been attributed to adenoviral vaccines.
"According to our results, transcription of wildtype and codon-optimized Spike open reading frames enables alternative splice events that lead to C-terminal truncated, soluble Spike protein variants. These soluble Spike variants may initiate severe side effects when binding to ACE2-expressing endothelial cells in blood vessels. In analogy to the thromboembolic events caused by Spike protein encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we termed the underlying disease mechanism the “Vaccine-Induced Covid-19 Mimicry†syndrome (VIC19M syndrome).
"Based on our findings, we strongly suggest that the Spike open reading frames – wildtype or codon-optimized - in vector-based vaccines has to be re-optimized to avoid unintended splice reactions and to increase the safety of these pharmaceutical products. Vice versa, all mRNA-based vaccines should represent safe products, because the delivered mRNA will only be translated into surface antigen, without having any possibility to participate in nuclear splice events." ■