Multiple Vaccinations and the Enigma of Vaccine Injury
Authors: Anthony R Mawson
Ashley M Croft
Journal: Vaccines (2020)
Discipline: IMMUNOLOGY
Keywords: Gulf War illness; allergy; disease; infections; injury
Affiliations: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS 39213, USA., School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, White Swan Road, Portsmouth PO1 2DT, UK.

Abstract:  A growing number of vaccines are administered at the same time or in close succession, increasing the complexity of assessing vaccine safety. Individual vaccines are assumed to have no other effect than protection against the targeted pathogen, but vaccines also have nonspecific and interactive effects, the outcomes of which can be beneficial or harmful. To date, no controlled trials and very few observational studies have determined the impact of vaccination schedules on overall health. The balance of the risks and benefits from mass vaccination therefore remains uncertain. Recent studies worryingly suggest links between multiple vaccinations and increased risks of diverse multisystem health problems, including allergies, infections, and neuropsychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we propose that, in susceptible persons, multiple vaccinations activate the retinoid cascade and trigger apoptotic hepatitis, leading to cholestatic liver dysfunction, in which stored vitamin A compounds (retinyl esters and retinoic acid) enter the circulation in toxic concentrations; this induces endogenous forms of hypervitaminosis A, with the severity of adverse outcomes being directly proportional to the concentration of circulating retinoids. In very low concentrations, vitamin A and its major metabolite retinoic acid contribute to immune function and to the process of immunization, whereas excess vitamin A increases the risk of adverse events, including common "side-effects" as well as chronic adverse outcomes. The increasing rates of allergy, ear infections, and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in countries with high rates of vaccination could be related to mass vaccination and to its impact on liver function and vitamin A metabolism, collectively representing endogenous manifestations of hypervitaminosis A. Further studies of health outcomes in vaccinated and unvaccinated groups are urgently needed, to increase understanding of the pathophysiology and treatment of vaccine injury, to identify the risk factors and screen for vaccine injury, to inform public health policy on potential hazards related to vaccination schedules, and to optimize the safety and benefits of vaccines. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 *Among 1548 Kansas GW veterans and controls (non-GW), the rate of GWI among vaccinated GW veterans was 11 times higher than among non-GW veterans who did not receive vaccines. Vaccinated non-GW veterans had significantly higher rates of chronic pain, neurological, and gastrointestinal problems, and nearly four-fold higher odds of GWI than non-GW veterans who did not receive vaccines. It was concluded that vaccines u201cwere a contributing factor to the excess morbidity among Gulf War veteransu201d [44].* Ref [44] is to  Steele, L. Prevalence and Patterns of Gulf War Illness in Kansas Veterans: Association of Symptoms with Characteristics of Person, Place, and Time of Military Service. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2000, 152, 992u20131002. The actual phrasing used by those authors is  that excess morbidity among Gulf War veterans is associated with characteristics of their wartime service, and that vaccines used during the war **may be** a contributing factor (my emphasis). That is to say, despite using quote marks to indicate that they are quoting Steele et al verbatim, here Mawson and Croft have telescoped the passage and altered the wording to make it a statement of fact rather than a speculation. Is this normal scholarly practice? , 
 #1 The writer is correct about the misquotation and as the first author I acknowledge that the statement from the paper by Steele et al. should have read:  vaccines used during the war may be a contributing factor to the excess morbidity among Gulf War veterans. , 
 #2 Thank you for your reply. Will you be contacting the journal to make a correction? ,