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

Joan Wakefield could barely walk the best part of six months. The 72-year-old Stockport man had a knee replacement in October and has since contracted scar tissue infections, causing pain.

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

‘I could not believe it. I joked with my partner about whether the vaccine had anything to do with it. Previously, I could not even bend my leg. Now I can stretch it completely, and even put on my shoes and socks. I’m optimistic that I can go back to work sooner rather than later. ‘

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

But Joan Wakefield is far from alone.

Last month, the email Ellie Cannon, Mail on Sunday, wrote about the curious case of a man with Lyme disease who found that his prolonged fatigue had evaporated, a few days after he had the Covid vaccine. Many of you have written to tell similar miraculous stories.

One has seen stubborn patches of eczema on her arms, legs and midriff disappear in a mysterious way within hours of having a jab. Another claims that the dizzying dizziness she fought for 25 years disappeared four days after her shot.

Meanwhile, a woman wrote that for the first time since she was diagnosed with a sleep disorder 15 years ago, her husband slept a full night. Even stranger, some claim to have stayed in better health after contracting the virus themselves.

One 95-year-old resident of the care home was described by her daughter and was suddenly ‘awake and alive’ after having Covid last month.

‘In the past, mother was very weak, she lost weight and her voice lost strength. We were prepared in the end not to be too far away ‘, wrote Roz Ellis, from Ilford, Essex.

‘Four weeks after recovering from Covid, her voice is stronger. She stands at the window for ten minutes and she puts on 3 lbs. ‘

Most readers suggest that the jab – or the infection itself – caused the immune system to jump into action and attack other, niggle health problems. And they could very well be right. Scientists have been documenting the unexpected benefits of vaccines for decades – medically known as ‘non-specific effects’.

Studies in the 1970s and 1980s by Danish scientist Peter Aaby found that vaccination against measles in West African communities reduced the risk of infant mortality by a third, but only four percent of this decrease was explained by more people surviving measles.

Also in the 1970s, Russian scientists discovered that the population had been vaccinated against polio, which reduced deaths due to flu and other infections by up to 80 percent.

More recently, Dutch and Greek researchers have reported astonishing early results from trials to see if the elderly can give a vaccine for the bacterial infection tuberculosis – the BGC sample – can protect against other common infections that often land the weak and vulnerable in hospital. .

Nearly twice as many infections were seen in the placebo group compared to the vaccinated participants.

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

What’s more, bladder cancer patients receiving 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 ‘exercise’ the immune system and thus strengthen it.

But Professor Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist at the University of Manchester, does not like this theory and maintains that there is another explanation.

She says: ‘The protection we see against other health problems in those who have had measles and BCG vaccines is an advantage that they did not suffer from such diseases in their younger years.

“If we suffer from measles, tuberculosis or any other infection against which we are vaccinated, it can adversely affect our immune system in the long run.”

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

“People who are vaccinated against these infections will therefore be less likely to suffer from other diseases.”

As for those experiencing miraculous repairs after the Covid-19 jab, Prof Cruickshank says the explanation lies in our emotional response to it. “The pandemic was extremely stressful, and we often underestimate the effects of stress on our immune system,” she says.

She explains that increased stress hormones interfere with the ability of immune cells to target infections. She says: ‘This is why we tend to get colds or pick up bacterial infections when we are stressed and run down.

“It is also this reaction that leads to a flare-up in vulnerable people in inflammatory conditions such as eczema – because the immune system goes insignificant.”

Dr. Cruickshank suspects that the vaccine will be a relief to many people and thus reduce stress levels. The beneficial effect on the immune system can be immediate. It’s amazing, ‘she adds.

She also emphasizes that the type of vaccine used to prevent Covid-19 differs significantly from that used in previous studies.

‘The measles and tuberculosis jabs are all’ live ‘vaccines.

‘It involves injecting a small amount of an attenuated version of the virus or bacteria that causes the disease.

‘It helps the immune system to recognize it when seen in larger doses, so it’s quicker to react.

‘But all the Covid-19 vaccines do not work by injecting viral particles, but the genetic instructions that our immune cells need to create a small portion of them.

“It is unlikely to have an effect on immune cells that are not specifically designed to target.”

Joan Wakefield has no doubt about the cure for her cracking knee. She writes: ‘As soon as I read of other people seeing amazing effects of the vaccine, it all made sense.

“I believe that is the case with me.”