IL-6: The Smoking Gun of Vaccine Damage

For years, many in the vaccine awareness community have pondered whether the rise and rise of widespread vaccination could be related to the rise and rise of chronic conditions afflicting our society (in the West, at least). We have even pondered seemingly unrelated issues, like mental illness, depression, suicide and violence, wondering if vaccines might somehow be involved.

Despite our wondering, we haven’t had definitive proof. Just a vague suspicion that we cannot prove. We’ve been accused, by some, of trying to implicate vaccines in *every* malady known to mankind.

It has been my suspicion that severe reactions following vaccination usually require other co-factors to be present – whether that’s existing toxicity or health conditions, genetic mutations causing a reduced ability to detoxify, low Vitamin C status, recent antibiotic use (leading to gut dysbiosis, etc), systemic yeast infection, chronic stress, to name a few.

However, recently I just happened to be up at 3am in the morning – couldn’t sleep – and decided to do plug some random search terms into Pubmed.

I stumbled across a study that, honestly, shocked me so much, all hope of sleep was gone for the night.

In this small (double-blind, placebo-controlled) study, researchers set out to study the effect of inflammation on emotional awareness. In particular, the ability to ‘read’ another person’s mental state (an important social-cognitive skill that allows us to have meaningful social interactions with other humans).

In order to induce inflammation, they vaccinated participants in the treatment group with Typhim Vi (a typhoid vaccine), while participants in the control group received a saline injection. Levels of Interleukin-6 (an important marker of inflammation) increased by more than 400% in the vaccination group. Those in the vaccination group subsequently performed worse in testing that assessed their ability to ‘read’ the mental state of others [1].

Note that this is not the first study to show that vaccination can significantly increase IL-6 levels. Two decades ago, another study, conducted on premature infants, clearly demonstrated that vaccination with the whole-cell DTP vaccine elevated IL-6 levels. [2].

Now, this may not seem like a big deal, until you begin to understand what science has already discovered about Interleukin-6, since it’s discovery in 1986…

What this study clearly demonstrates is that inflammatory reactions, with potentially long-term consequences, take place after vaccination, even without any OUTWARD or IMMEDIATE signs of harm.

Interleukin-6 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine, normal and necessary to facilitate inflammatory processes during the acute phase of infection. It is when interleukin-6 is elevated excessively, especially for long periods of time, that problems – big problems – start to manifest.

There is an overwhelming, and growing, wealth of evidence that links inflammatory levels caused by excessive Interleukin-6, with neurological disorders, chronic diseases and autoimmune conditions.

AUTISM

Recent studies show that interleukin-6 is significantly up-regulated in autistic patients, compared with healthy controls [3].

Studies on mice also reveal that if IL-6 levels are increased in a pregnant female, brain development is altered in the unborn fetus, and offspring grow up to suffer from behavioural changes and social deficits commonly seen in autism [4-5].

BIPOLAR DISORDER

New research (published October, 2019) shows that symptomatic offspring of parents diagnosed with bipolar disorder, have significantly higher levels of IL-6, compared with offspring who display no symptoms of the disorder [6].

In other research, bipolar patients who were experiencing manic episodes also showed increased IL-6 levels, while bipolar patients who were in remission showed similar levels to healthy controls [7].

CANCER

Over-expression of Interleukin-6 has been reported in almost all types of tumours. According to research published in 2016:

“The strong association between inflammation and cancer is reflected by the high IL-6 levels in the tumour microenvironment, where it promotes tumorigenesis by regulating all hallmarks of cancer and multiple signalling pathways, including apoptosis, survival, proliferation, angiogenesis, invasiveness and metastasis, and most importantly, the metabolism” [8].

Therapies that block or inhibit IL-6 are being explored as a treatment, not only for cancer, but other chronic inflammatory diseases, such as autoimmune conditions [9].

SIDS

Research from 1995 showed that babies who died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) had higher levels of IL-6 in cerebrospinal fluid. Researchers surmised that the presence of these inflammatory cytokines in the central nervous system may cause respiratory depression, especially in vulnerable infants [10].

Importantly, elevated levels of IL-6 were not necessarily accompanied by outward symptoms of infection or inflammation (fever, etc), even though IL-6 is known to cross the brain barrier and affect the body’s temperature ‘set-point’ in the hypothalamus [11].

SUICIDE AND VIOLENCE

Research shows that IL-6 levels are increased in people who attempt suicide, when compared with those who suffer from depression (but are not suicidal) [12]. Furthermore, those who performed violent suicide attempts displayed the highest IL-6 levels [13].

Research published in 2014 showed that IL-6 levels were significantly higher in patients with intermittent explosive disorder, compared to normal controls. In addition, both C-Reactive Protein (another inflammatory marker) and IL-6 were “directly correlated with a composite measure of aggression and, more specifically, with measures reflecting history of actual aggressive behavior in all participants”[14]. Plasma levels of IL-6 significantly correlated with impulsivity and monotony avoidance (a factor in thrill-seeking or dangerous behaviours).

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

IL-6 levels are increased in patients suffering from anxiety disorders, compared with control subjects [15].

One study of older women found that those who reported the most depression, anger, fatigue or mood disturbance, had significantly increased levels of IL-6. Although it is known that IL-6 increases psychological disorders, the feelings of anxiety or stress also increase IL-6, so the process can become a ‘vicious cycle’ [16].

At least two meta-analyses have shown that IL-6 is the most consistently elevated cytokine in the blood of patients with major depressive disorder, and that peripheral levels of IL-6 positively correlate to symptom severity [17-18].

It has also been shown that children with higher circulating IL-6 levels at age 9, had a 10% higher risk of developing depression by age 18 [19].

Elevated levels of IL-6 have also been reported in women suffering from post-partum depression [20].

Monoclonal antibodies against IL-6 receptors are currently being used as treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, and are being tested as potential treatment for mood disorders.

TYPE 2 DIABETES

Research shows that elevated levels of both IL-6 and C-Reactive Protein can predict the development of type 2 diabetes [21].

Clearly, there are consequences to up-regulating IL-6 in the body. The question is, if vaccination can increase IL-6 levels by more than 400%, how long do the levels stay elevated for? I feel this is the critical issue at stake here, given that chronic up-regulation seems to be a major factor in many of the disorders mentioned above. Unfortunately, the studies mentioned don’t address this issue, however, we do know that aluminium adjuvants selectively up-regulate IL-6, possibly via oxidative stress processes [22].

According to Professor Gherardi in France, aluminium deposits may persist for up to 12 years at injection site, in some individuals [23]. In mice studies, the aluminium slowly moves from injection site to distant organs, such as brain and spleen, where it can still be detected 1 year following vaccination [24].

PS: If you’d like to support my work, please consider purchasing my book, or telling others about it! I would really appreciate that.

References:

[1] Balter LJT, Hulsken S, Aldred S, et al. Low-grade inflammation decreases emotion recognition – Evidence from the vaccination model of inflammation, Brain Behav Immun, 2018, 73: 216-221.

[2] Pourcyrous M, Korones SB, Crouse D, Bada HS. Interleukin-6, C-Reactive Protein, and abnormal cardiorespiratory responses to immunization in premature infants, Pediatrics, 1998, 101(3):E3.

[3] Eftekharian MM, Ghafouri-Fard S, Noroozi R, et al. Cytokine profile in autistic patients, Cytokine, 2018, 108:120-126.

[4] Smith SE, Li J, Garbett K, et al. Maternal immune activation alters fetal brain development through interleukin-6, J Neurosci, 2007, 27(40):10695-702.

[5] Wu WL, Hsiao EY, Yan Z, et al. The placental interleukin-6 signaling controls fetal brain development and behaviour, Brain Behav Immun, 2017, 62:11-23.

[6] Lin K, Shao R, Wang R. Inflammation, brain structure and cognition interrelations among individuals with differential risks for bipolar disorder, Brain Behav Immun, 2019, S0889-1591(19).

[7] Brietzke E, Stertz L, Fernandes BS, et al. Comparison of cytokine levels in depressed, manic and euthymic patients with bipolar disorder, J Affect Disord, 2009, 116(3):214-217.

[8] Kumari N, Dwarakanath BS, Das A, Bhatt AN. Role of interleukin-6 in cancer progression and therapeutic resistance, Tumour Biol, 2016, 37(9):11553-11572.

[9] Rath T, Billmeier U, Waldner MJ, et al. From physiology to disease and targeted therapy: interleukin-6 in inflammation and inflammation-associated carcinogenesis, Arch Toxicol, 2015, 89(4):541-554.

[10] Vege A, Rognum TO, Scott H, et al. SIDS cases have increased levels of interleuking-6 in cerebrospinal fluid, Acta Paediatr, 1995, 84(2):193-196.

[11] Haynes RL. Biomarkers of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Risk and SIDS Death. SIDS Sudden Infant and Early Childhood Death: The Past, the Present and the Future, University of Adelaide Press, South Australia, 2018, pp. 731–758.

[12] Janelidze S, Mattei D, Westrin A, et al. Cytokine levels in the blood may distinguish suicide attempters from depressed patients, Brain Behav Immun, 2011, 25(2):335-339.

[13] Lindqvist D, Janelidze S, Hagell P, et al. Interleukin-6 is elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid of suicide attempters and related to symptom severity, Biol Psych, 2009, 66(3):287-292.

[14] Coccaro EF, Lee R, Coussons-Read M. Elevated plasma inflammatory markers in individuals with intermitten explosive disorder and correlation with aggression in humans, JAMA Psychiatry, 2014, 71(2):158-165.

[15] O’Donovan A, Hughes BM, Slavich GM, et al. Clinical anxiety, cortisol and interleukin-6: evidence for specificity in emotion-biology relationships. Brain Behav Immun. 2010;24(7):1074–1077.

[16] Lutgendorf SK, Garand L, Buckwalter KC, et al. Life stress, mood disturbance, and elevated interleukin-6 in healthy, older women, J Gerentology, 1999, 54(9):434-439.

[17] Dowlati Y., Herrmann N., Swardfager W., Liu H., Sham L., Reim E.K., Lanctot K.L. A meta-analysis of cytokines in major depression. Biol. Psychiatry. 2010;67:446–457.

[18] Haapakoski R., Mathieu J., Ebmeier K.P., Alenius H., Kivimaki M. Cumulative meta-analysis of interleukins 6 and 1beta, tumour necrosis factor alpha and C-reactive protein in patients with major depressive disorder. Brain Behav. Immun. 2015;49:206–215.

[19] Khandaker G.M., Pearson R.M., Zammit S., Lewis G., Jones P.B. Association of serum interleukin 6 and C-reactive protein in childhood with depression and psychosis in young adult life: a population-based longitudinal study. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71:1121–1128.

[20] Boufidou F, Lambrinoudaki I, Argeitis J, et al. CSF and plasma cytokines at delivery and postpartum mood disturbances. J. Affect Disord, 2009, 115:287–292.

[21] Pradhan AD, Manson JE, Nader R, et al. C-Reactive Protein, Interleukin-6 and risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, JAMA, 2001, 286(3):327-334.

[22] Viezeliene D, Beekhof P, Gremmer E, et al. Selective induction of IL-6 by aluminium-induced oxidative stress can be prevented by selenium, J Trace Elem Med Biol, 2013, 27(3): 226-229.

[23] Gherardi RK, Cadusseau J, Authier FJ. Biopersistence and systemic distribution of intramuscularly-injected particles: what impact on long-term tolerability of alum adjuvants? Bull Acad Nat Med, 2014, 198(1):37-48.

[24] Khan Z, Combadiere C, Authier FJ, et al. Slow CCL2-dependent translocation of biopersistent particles from muscle to brain, BMC Med, 2013, 11:99.

Vaccines & Infertility

In 2012, the British Medical Journal published a case report of a 16-year-old girl who received a cervical cancer vaccine towards the end of 2008. Following that, her menstrual periods became irregular and scant, and by 2011, her menstrual cycle had ceased altogether.

Upon further inspection, it was discovered that all of her remaining eggs were dead – she was totally and irreversibly infertile, at just 16 years of age [1].

Other cases of premature ovarian failure in young women following vaccination for cervical cancer have since come before the courts [2].

A recent study (2018) analysed information representing 8 million 25-to-29-year-old US women between 2007 and 2014.

Approximately 60% of women who did not receive the HPV vaccine had been pregnant at least once, whereas only 35% of women who were exposed to the vaccine had conceived [3].

It is not just the HPV vaccine raising questions about possibly fertility effects. Research also shows increased risk of miscarriage after influenza vaccination during pregnancy [4]. [

Note that multi-dose vials of influenza vaccine still contain mercury in the form of thimerosal – the Chinese were using mercury as an abortifacient up to 5000 years ago [5].

Globally, the fertility rate has more than halved since 1960.

Fifty-nine countries, representing 46% of the global population, now have fertility rates below replacement level [6].

Of course, much of that has been by choice, through women’s rights movements, access to contraceptives, changing religious beliefs, along with increased living standards and higher education (not to mention a very aggressive ‘family planning’ push through WHO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others – more on that in a later post), but clearly not all of the plummeting fertility rate has been by choice…

An international team of scientists analysed data from nearly 43,000 men in dozens of industrialized countries and found that sperm counts have dropped by more than half over the past four decades [7].

Peter Schlegal, professor and chairman of urology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, and vice president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, says “Since this is the best study that’s ever been done, it is concerning that it suggests such a progressive and dramatic decrease in sperm counts over time.”

“Since we don’t know what could be causing it, it’s worrisome” [8].

Numerous studies also reveal that testosterone levels in men have declined substantially over the past decades [9-11]

Over the past decades, girls in Western countries have also been reaching puberty at younger and younger ages… [12]

There is evidence to suggest that earlier puberty, coupled with no children, doubles a woman’s risk of early menopause [13].

Is there a possibility that vaccines could somehow contribute to lower sperm counts, earlier puberty and menopause, not to mention the growing numbers of women suffering hormonal issues such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), estrogen dominance etc?

Given that no vaccine on the market has been tested long-term for ability to damage or impair fertility, we are left to theorize about potentials and correlations. Certainly, there are a number of ingredients used in vaccines that are possible ‘red flags’.

Aluminium: Used as an adjuvant in numerous vaccines, such as Hepatitis B (first dose administered within hours of birth), and HPV vaccines (given to 11-13yo boys and girls), is a metalloestrogen. It belongs to a class of metals that are capable of binding to oestrogen receptors and mimicking the action of physiological oestrogen [14]. Mercury is also a metalloestrogen.

Glutaraldehyde: Classified as a reproductive toxin in females, and suspected reproductive toxin in males, capable of inducing DNA damage in mammals [15], is found in DTaP vaccines given to infants as young as 6 weeks.

Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide: A surfactant used in some influenza and typhoid vaccines.

No data available on its ability to cause cancer, birth defects or DNA damage, however, animal test data suggests it may cause adverse reproductive effects and birth defects. May also be toxic to the liver, cardiovascular and nervous systems [16].

2-Phenoxyethanol: According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2-phenoxyethanol is the same as ethylene glycol, which has been shown to cause “wasting of the testicles, reproductive changes, infertility and changes to kidney function” [17].

Sodium borate, or Borax: Used in the Hepatitis A and HPV vaccines, and is added as a buffer, to “resist changes in pH, adjust tonicity and maintain osmolarity” [18].

Animal studies “show that the primary targets for borate toxicity are the developing fetus and the male reproductive system”. (Note that adolescent boys are now being targeted for HPV vaccination.)

Reproductive effects included atrophy of the testes and infertility [19].

Those are the ingredients we know about. What about vaccine contaminants, which scientists admit there is no possible way to screen for all potential contaminants [20-22], and even if there were, the FDA and other regulatory agencies only offer ‘guidance’ on how vaccine manufacturers ‘should’ screen vaccine lots [23]?

In 2003, three states in Northern Nigeria boycotted the oral polio vaccine, due to the alleged discovery of contaminants, including trace amounts of estrogen. The boycott lasted for 15 months [24].

In 2015, Catholic Bishops in Kenya announced that they had tested vials of the tetanus vaccine, then being used to vaccinate women of child-bearing age, and found them laced with beta-HCG, a pregnancy hormone [25]

The Catholic Church operates about 30% of health clinics in Kenya, and is not opposed to vaccination per se [26], but suspicions began to arise over the secrecy surrounding the WHO/UNICEF vaccination campaign (vials were delivered to health clinics under police guard, and empty vials returned to Nairobi, also under police guard), and the unusual policy of 5 doses of tetanus toxoid vaccine, administered every 6 months [27].

One of the laboratories used to test the vaccines for contaminants, Agriq-Quest, later had their license suspended by the Kenyan government. Agriq-Quest, however, claimed it was because they refused to doctor the samples to show the vaccines were clean [28].

As Oller et al (2017) noted: “…WHO biomedical researchers have been working to engineer such an “anti-fertility” vaccine for “birth-control” at least since 1972. Research published in 1976 confirmed that recipients of a vaccine containing βhCG chemically conjugated with TT (tetanus toxoid) develop antibodies not only against TT but also against βhCG. The result, first reported by WHO researchers at a meeting of the US National Academy of Sciences, is a “birth-control” vaccine that diminishes the βhCG essential to a successful pregnancy and causes at least temporary “infertility”. Subsequent research showed that repeated doses can extend infertility indefinitely” [29]

During the 1990’s, numerous reports surfaced that millions of women in Nicaragua, Mexico and Phillipines had been targeted by WHO ‘anti-fertility’ vaccination campaigns, under the guise of ‘eliminating neonatal tetanus’ [30].

More recently, In December, 2018, Italian research group, Corvelva, announced that they had received a donation from the Italian National Order of Biologists, and intended to test the contents of every vaccine currently on the market.

Their results so far have been disturbing. For instance, their testing of Hexyon 6-in-1 infant vaccine (recently approved for use in the US, beginning in 2020, under a different trade name) not only revealed a conspicuous absence of some antigens meant to be in there, they also noted the presence of many contaminants not meant to be in there [31]!

These included:

Diethylatrazine: Pesticide, second most widely used pesticide in the US (after glyphosate), but banned in Europe due to persistent groundwater contamination. It is suspected to be an endocrine disrupter and reproductive toxin. Studies found that the chemical caused male frogs to develop female characteristics, possibly because testosterone levels decreased by 10 times, when exposed to atrazine at just 25 ppb (parts per billion) [32]

Sulfluramid: Insecticide (which contains fluoride), not approved for use in EU. Was due to be phased out in US by 2016. Used in a variety of termite, ant and cockroach baits. Animal studies suggest that sulfluramid may adversely affect the reproductive system, especially in males, and/or cause infertility in males [33]

References:

[1] Little DT, Ward HR. premature ovarian failure 3 years after menarche in a 16-year-old girl following human papillomavirus vaccination, BMJ Case Reports, 2012, doi:10.1136/bcr-2012-006879.

[2] Wetzstein C. HPV Vaccine Cited in Infertility Case, The Washington Times, November 11, 2013.

[3] DeLong G, A lowered probability of pregnancy in females in the USA aged 25–29 who received a human papillomavirus vaccine injection, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 2018, 81(14): 661-674]

[4] Donahue JG, Kieke BA, King JP et al, Association of spontaneous abortion with receipt of inactivated vaccine containing H1N1pdm09 in 2010-11 and 2011-12, Vaccine, 2017, 35(40):5314-5322.

[5] Tietze C and Lewit S, Abortion, Scientific American, 1969, 220:21.

[6] Cheadle C, Dropping Fertility Rates are a Threat to the Global Economy, Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/dropping-fertility-rates-will-affect-the-economy-2016-11?IR=T. Accessed March, 2019.

[7] Levine H, Jørgensen N, Martino-Andrade A, et al, Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis, Human Reproduction Update, 2017, 23(6): 646–659.

[8] Stein R, Sperm counts plummet in western men, study finds, NPR, 31st July 2017, https://www.npr.org/2017/07/31/539517210/sperm-counts-plummet-in-western-men-study-finds. Accessed February, 2019.

[9] [Andersson AM, Jensen TK, Juul A et al, Secular Decline in Male Testosterone and Sex Hormone Binding Globulin Serum Levels in Danish Population Surveys, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2007, 92(12): 4696–4705.

[10] Travison TG, Araujo AB, Amy B. O’Donnell AB, et al, A Population-Level Decline in Serum Testosterone Levels in American Men, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2007, Volume 92(1): 196–202.

[11]Perheentupa A, Mäkinen J, Laatikainen T, et al Vierula, M., Skakkebaek, N., Andersson, A., & Toppari, J. A cohort effect on serum testosterone levels in Finnish men, European Journal of Endocrinology, 2013, 168(2): 227-233.

[12] Boaz NT, Essentials of biological anthropology, 1999, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.

[13] Thacker HL, Does early menstruation mean earlier menopause? https://speakingofwomenshealth.com/column/does-early-menstruation-mean-early-menopause. Accessed February 2019.

[14] Darbre P, Metalloestrogens: an emerging class of inorganic xenoestrogens with potential to add to the oestrogenic burden of the human breast, J Appl Toxicol, 2006, 26(3): 191-197.

[15] Science Lab. MSDS Glutaraldehyde, http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924161. Accessed October, 2017.

[16] Science Lab. MSDS Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9923367. Accessed October, 2017.

[17] Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc. MSDS: 2- phenoxyethanol, http://datasheets.scbt.com/sc-238193.pdf. Accessed October, 2017.

[18] The Immunization Advisory Centre. Vaccine Ingredients Factsheet for Parents and Caregivers, http://www.immune.org.nz/vaccines/vaccine-development/vaccine-components. Accessed October, 2017.

[19] U.S. Forest Service. Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment for Borax Final Report, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ac73/7b23b40f58669398317e30efe51833c361c5.pdf. Accessed October, 2017.

[20] Stang A, Petrasch- Parwez E, Brandt S, et al. Unintended spread of a biosafety level 2 recombinant retrovirus, Retrovirology, 2009, 6:86.

[21] Veerasami M, Chitra M, Mohana Subramanian B, et al. Individual and multiplex pCR assays for the detection of adventitious bovine and porcine viral genome contaminants in the commercial vaccines and animal derived raw materials, J Vet Sci Tech, 2014, 5:3.

[22] Marcus-Sekura C, Richardson JC, Harston RK, Sane N, Sheets RL. Evaluation of the Human Host Range of Bovine and Porcine Viruses that may Contaminate Bovine Serum and Porcine Trypsin Used in the Manufacture of Biological Products. Biologicals : Journal of the International Association of Biological Standardization. 2011;39(6):359-369.

[23] FDA. Guidance for Industry: Content and Format of Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls Information and Establishment Description Information for a Vaccine or Related product, https://www.fda.gov/downloads/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/Vaccines/ucm092272.pdf. Accessed March 2019]

[24] ABC News, Vaccine Boycott Grows in Northern Nigeria, 24th February, 2004.

[25] Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops: Press Statement by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, http://www.kccb.or.ke/home/news-2/press-statement-by-the-kenya-conference-of-catholic-bishops/. Accessed March, 2019.

[26] Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops: Catholic Health Commission of Kenya, http://www.kccb.or.ke/home/commission/12-catholic-health-commission-of-kenya/. Accessed March 2019.

[27] Oller, JW, Shaw CA, Tomljenovic, L., et al, HCG Found in WHO Tetanus Vaccine in Kenya Raises Concern in the Developing World. Open Access Library Journal, 2017, 4: e3937.

[28] Obara V, License of industrial lab Agriq-Quest suspended, Business Daily, 12th January, 2017, https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Licence-of-industrial-lab-Agriq-Quest-suspended/539550-3515280-j78flcz/. Accessed March, 2019.

[29] Oller, JW, Shaw CA, Tomljenovic, L., et al, HCG Found in WHO Tetanus Vaccine in Kenya Raises Concern in the Developing World. Open Access Library Journal, 2017, 4: e3937.

[30] Ibid

[31] Corvelva, Study on the chemical composition of Hexyon, Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12e3O0cT1hSMGULzvFg3DcoM_XyGZMRur/view. Accessed 24th January, 2019.

[32] Hayes TB, Collins A, Lee M, Mendoza M, Noriega N, Stuart AA, Vonk A, Hermaphroditic, demasculinized frogs after exposure to the herbicide atrazine at low ecologically relevant doses, Proc Nat Acad Sci, 2002, 99(8): 5476-5480.

[33] US EPA memorandum, “Sulfluramid – Amount of A.I. in Raid Max Roach Bait.” To Mike Mendelsohn, PM Team Reviewer, Registration Division (7505C). From Linda L. Talor, Ph.D., Toxicology Branch II, Health Effects Division (7509C) and Marcia van Gemert, Ph.D., Chief, Toxicology Branch II/HED (7509C), August 10, 1994.].

How Vaccines Are Really Made

  1. First, collect the nasal or throat washing or urine of someone suspected of having the disease [1]. Or…if you were Jonas Salk or Albert Sabin, inventors of first polio vaccines, you collected the feces from people suspected of having polio, and then diluted it in water [2]. Refrigerate.
  2. Next, prepare a culture of monkey cells or mashed chicken embryos, by cutting them up, and adding chemicals to make them mutate and turn cancerous [3].
  3. Now, arrange these cells, single layer, into a lab vessel, and add a digestive enzyme from pig or cow pancreas’ called Trypsin. Take care to use gloves and splash goggles, because you do not want pure trypsin getting in your eyes…and careful not to add too much, or you’ll kill the cells outright [4].
  4. Next, add a nutrient broth and sugar to the by now stressed cells and allow them to marinate (recover) for a couple of days [3].
  5. Now take your original specimen of snot/phlegm/urine from the fridge, add to the monkey/chicken cells, and then place in a warm incubation chamber.
  6. After one hour, inspect the mixture with a microscope, and if 50% of the cells are now distorted, you’re on a winner! Scrape the cells into a medium, such as diluted blood of an unborn cow (fetal bovine serum [5]). Store at -70C and you now have a ‘pure isolate’ with which to make a vaccine!
  7. Next, you take cells that have a) descended from a baby that was aborted 60years ago, whose cells have been kept alive artificially, and replicating ever since [6], or b) cells that have descended from the kidneys of an African green monkey, and kept alive artificially, and replicating in a laboratory [7], or c) cells from a cocker-spaniel that were harvested in 1958, and have not only been kept alive and replicating ever since, but have been turned cancerous [8], and then infect these cells with your ‘pure virus isolate’. Give it some time, so all the cells can get ‘infected’ [9].
  8. Collect the fluid (cellular waste products) that runs out while the virus is ‘replicating’ in the incubation tanks, and pass it through a sieve and separator [10].
  9. Add some benzonase, which is a genetically engineered endonuclease produced in e.Coli, that attacks and degrades DNA and RNA [11].
  10. Next, add formaldehyde to ‘inactivate’ it.
  11. Now, time to filter and concentrate it, via ultracentifugion, which spins the fluid at super high speed to separate tiny particles from larger particles [10].
  12. Add some more benzonase to digest any leftover monkey/human DNA fragments that remain. This process is obviously not fool-proof, since DNA fragments are still found in the finished product
  13. Add some more chemicals to your ‘pure, concentrated product’:
  • Stabilisers, such as albumin from the blood of other humans, or produced by yeast cells that have had the gene for human albumin inserted into them.
  • Emulsifiers, such as Polysorbate 80, to stop the vaccine contents from separating.
  • Acidity regulators, such as borax (sodium borate), to maintain pH balance [12].

Your product is now ready to be added to vials, and distributed.

If you’re making an egg-based vaccine, such as the influenza vaccine, the process is slightly different. Instead of adding your ‘pure virus isolate’ to a cell culture, you inject it into fertilised eggs and let the chicken embryo ‘manufacture’ your virus for you. After about 72hrs, a machine sucks out the contents of the egg, which are then spun at super-high speeds and filtered. You can then carry on adding the chemical formulations to finish your product [13].

It takes approximately one egg to make one vaccine, so that equals around 500 million eggs used every year, to manufacture flu vaccines [14].

Egg-based vaccines take about 4 months to make one batch of vaccines [15], which is obviously time-consuming, and probably why manufacturers are looking for different methods of manufacturing…

The above descriptions may vary slightly depending on what virus or medium or manufacturing system you are using, but that is basically how the process works for viral vaccines. (For toxoid vaccines, such as tetanus and diptheria, the bacterium is encouraged to produce toxins, which are then ‘inactivated’ via centrifugion, or formalin treatment, and then adsorbed onto aluminium salt [16].)

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Surely, today’s modern vaccines are not so crudely made? You’re almost right! Although vaccine manufacturing facilities today are highly computerised and stainless steel, a number of vaccines are still made as described above. But newer vaccines, such as the Hepatitis and HPV vaccines are made somewhat differently.

They don’t use a virus, they take certain ‘key molecules’ said to come from the virus in question, and then insert them into an insect cell culture, or yeast culture to reproduce the desired quantities.

As you can imagine, a few ‘key molecules’ don’t create much of an immune reaction, which is why adjuvants, such as aluminium hydroxide are required [17].

The HPV vaccine has to be manufactured this way, because nobody has yet figured out a way to entice cell cultures to produce human papillomavirus (make of that what you will) [18].

Another new technology now being explored is DNA vaccines – using naked DNA particles said to come from the pathogen in question, which are then coated onto gold particles and shot directly into muscles via the use of a helium gas-pressurised gun, such as used in gene therapy [17].

Note that Points 1-6 are set out in ‘The Vaccine Papers’, by Janine Roberts, based on a CDC/WHO document titled ‘Isolation and Identification of Measles Virus in Culture’. That document was edited, and some things removed, after Roberts drew attention to it in radio interviews. The full script of the original document can be found in her book [1]. The amended version is still online here.

References:

  1. Roberts J. The Vaccine Papers, Impact Investigative Media Productions, Wigan UK, 2010.
  2. Sabin AB, Boulger L, History of Sabin Attenuated Poliovirus Oral Live Caccine Strains I J Biol Stand, 1973, 115, 115-118.
  3. NPTEL, Lecture 6: Isolation and purification of viruses and components, https://nptel.ac.in/courses/102103039/6. Accessed February 3, 2019.
  4. MSDS for Trypsin, https://www.lewisu.edu/academics/biology/pdf/trypsin.pdf. Accessed February 2, 2019].
  5. Humane Research Australia, Use of Fetal Calf Serum, http://www.humaneresearch.org.au/campaigns/fetal_calf_serum, Accessed February 2, 2019
  6. Fletcher, MA; Hessel, L; Plotkin, SA (1998). “Human diploid cell strains (HDCS) viral vaccines”. Developments in Biological Standardization. 93: 97–107.
  7. Ammerman NC, Beier-Sexton M, Azad AF. Growth and maintenance of Vero cell lines. Curr Protoc Microbiol. 2008;Appendix 4:Appendix 4E.
  8. Omeir RL, Teferedegne B, Foseh GS, et al. Heterogeneity of the tumorigenic phenotype expressed by Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Comp Med. 2011;61(3):243-50.
  9. VxP Biologics, The Vero Vaccine Production Pipeline, https://www.vxpbiologics.com/the-vero-vaccine-production-pipeline/. Accessed February, 2019.
  10. Ibid
  11. Sigma Aldrich, Benzonase Nuclease, https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/e1014?lang=en&region=AU. Accessed February, 2019.
  12. Oxford Vaccine Group, Vaccine Ingredients, http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vaccine-ingredients#human serum albumin, Accessed January, 2019.
  13. The Telegraph, From chicken egg to syringe: How a flu vaccine is made, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/pharmaceuticalsandchemicals/11138586/how-a-flu-vaccine-is-made-from-chicken-egg-to-syringe.html. Accessed February 3, 2019.
  14. Precision Vaccinations, 500 million easter eggs could be saved by the FDA, https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/chicken-eggs-produce-90-flu-vaccines. Accessed February 2, 2019.
  15. Singapore Government, Health Science Authority, Understanding Vaccines, Vaccine Development and Production, https://www.hsa.gov.sg/content/hsa/en/Health_Products_Regulation/Consumer_Information/Public_Advisories/Influenza_A_H1N1_information/H1N1_Vaccines/understanding-vaccines–vaccine-development-and-production.html. Accessed January, 2019.
  16. Plotkin S, Orenstein WA, Edwards K, Plotkin’s Vaccines, 7th Edition, 2018.
  17. Roberts J. The Vaccine Papers, Impact Investigative Media Productions, Wigan UK, 2010.
  18. Dixit R, Bhavsar C, Marfatia YS. Laboratory diagnosis of human papillomavirus virus infection in female genital tract. Indian J Sex Transm Dis AIDS. 2011;32(1):50-2.