Coronavirus jab can help fight cancer, chronic pain … and even Alzheimer’s disease

Joan Wakefield barely made it through most of the six months. The 72-year-old from Stockport had a knee replacement in October and has since suffered from scar tissue infections, causing excruciating pain.

Then, earlier this month, he received the first dose of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. “I woke up the next morning and my leg pain and stiffness were gone,” she says.

“I couldn’t believe it.” I joked with my partner if the vaccine was related to him. Previously, I couldn’t even bend my leg. Now I can fully extend it and even put on my shoes and socks. I am optimistic that I will be able to return to work sooner rather than later now.

It seems ridiculous – a vaccine designed to protect against a virus can somehow improve other totally unrelated health elements.

But Joan Wakefield is far from alone.

Last month, Mail on Sunday GP Ellie Cannon wrote about the curious case of a man with Lyme disease who had found his long-term fatigue evaporated just days after the Covid vaccine. Some of you have written similar miraculous stories.

One of them saw stubborn spots of eczema on her arms, legs and muscles mysteriously disappearing within hours of the jab. Another claimed that the dizzying vertigo he had struggled with for 25 years disappeared four days after the shooting.

Meanwhile, a woman wrote that her husband had enjoyed a good night’s sleep for the first time since he was diagnosed with a sleep disorder 15 years ago. Even more bizarrely, some have claimed that they were left in better health after contracting the virus itself.

A 95-year-old resident was described by her daughter and was suddenly “alert and alive” after having Covid last month.

“Previously, my mother was very fragile, she was losing weight and her voice was losing strength. We were prepared for the end not to be far away “, wrote Roz Ellis, from Ilford, Essex.

“Four weeks after the recovery from Covid, her voice is stronger. He stays at the window for ten minutes and puts on 3 kilograms.

Most readers guess that jaundice – or the infection itself – caused the immune system to take action and attack other negative health problems. And he might be right. Scientists have documented the unexpected benefits of vaccines for decades – medically known as “nonspecific effects”.

Studies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s by Danish scientist Peter Aaby found that mass measles vaccination in West African communities reduced the risk of child deaths by a third – but only four percent of this decline was explained. by several people who survived measles.

Also in the 1970s, Russian scientists discovered that vaccinating the population against polio reduced death from influenza and other infections by up to 80%.

More recently, Dutch and Greek researchers have reported astonishing early results from studies that looked at whether administering a vaccine to bacterial tuberculosis infection – BGC jab – could protect against other common infections that often bring fragility and vulnerability to the hospital.

Almost twice as many infections were observed in the placebo group compared to vaccinated participants.

And the BCG vaccine is already used to treat patients with bladder cancer with non-invasive tumors – it is given directly into the bladder to help the immune system fight cancer.

Moreover, patients with bladder cancer who receive this therapy are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s, according to a recent Israeli study. But why?

Scientists are not sure about the exact mechanism. Some suggest that vaccines can “train” the immune system, strengthening it.

But Professor Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist at the University of Manchester, does not fit into this theory and insists there is a different explanation.

She says: “The protection we see against other health problems in those who have had measles and BCG vaccine is a benefit of not having suffered from these diseases in their younger years.

“Suffering from measles, tuberculosis or any other infection we vaccinate against can have long-term harmful effects on our immune system.”

Studies show that they weaken the response to threats and cause systemic inflammation. Over time, this increases the risk of a number of diseases.

“In turn, people vaccinated against these infections will be less likely to suffer from other diseases.”

As for those facing miraculous recoveries after the Covid-19 blow, Prof. Cruickshank says the explanation lies in our emotional response to it. “The pandemic has been extremely stressful and we often underestimate the effect of stress on our immune system,” she says.

She explains that high stress hormones interfere with the ability of immune cells to target infections. She says: “This is why we tend to have bad colds or take on bacterial infections when we are stressed and fall down.

It is also this response that, in vulnerable people, leads to inflammatory conditions, such as eczema – because the immune system is not OK.

Dr. Cruickshank suspects the vaccine will be a relief for many, immediately reducing stress levels. The beneficial effect on the immune system can be instantaneous. It’s amazing, ‘she adds.

She also points out that the type of vaccine used to prevent Covid-19 is significantly different from those used in previous studies.

Drops against measles and tuberculosis are all so-called “live” vaccines.

These involve injecting a tiny amount of a weakened version of the virus or bacteria that are causing the disease.

“This helps the immune system recognize it when it sees it in higher doses, so it’s faster to respond.

But all Covid-19 vaccines work, not by injecting viral particles, but by the genetic instructions our immune cells need to create a small part of it.

It is unlikely to have any effect on immune cells that are not specifically designed to target them.

Joan Wakefield has no doubt about the healing of her squeaky knee. She writes: “As soon as I read about other people who see miraculous effects from the vaccine, everything made sense.

“I fully believe that is my case.”