Even leading experts in vaccine science have been met with disbelief and ambivalence.
Dr. Gregory Poland, 68, editor-in-chief of the journal Vaccine, said a loud ringing in his ears had accompanied every moment since his first injection, but his pleas to his colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Disease Prevention of exploring the The phenomenon of tinnitus had led nowhere.
He received polite responses to his numerous emails, but “I just don’t have any sense of movement,” he said.
“If they have done studies, those studies should be published,” Dr. Poland added. Desperate to never hear silence again, he has sought solace in meditation and his religious faith.
Dr. Buddy Creech, 50, who led several Covid vaccine trials at Vanderbilt University, said his tinnitus and racing heart lasted about a week after each injection. “It’s very similar to what I experienced during the acute phase of Covid, in March 2020,” Dr. Creech said.
Ultimately, research may find that most of the reported side effects are not related to the vaccine, he acknowledged. Many can be caused by Covid itself.
“Still, when our patients experience a side effect that may or may not be related to the vaccine, we owe it to them to investigate it as fully as possible,” Dr. Creech said.
Federal health officials say they do not believe Covid vaccines caused the illnesses described by patients like Mr. Barcavage, Dr. Zimmerman and Dr. France. Vaccines can cause transient reactions, such as swelling, fatigue and fever, according to the CDC, but the agency has documented only four serious but rare side effects.
Two are associated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is no longer available in the United States: Guillain-Barré syndrome, a known side effect of other vaccines, including the flu vaccine; and a blood clotting disorder.
The CDC also links the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to heart inflammation, or myocarditis, especially in boys and young men. And the agency warns about anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reaction, that can occur after any vaccination.
Listening for signs
Agency scientists are monitoring large databases containing medical information on millions of Americans for patterns that might suggest a previously unknown side effect of vaccination, said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Immunization. CDC Respiratory Diseases.
“We toe the line by reporting signs that we believe are real signs and reporting them as soon as we identify them as signs,” he said. The agency’s systems for monitoring vaccine safety are “pretty close” to ideal, she said.