The VAXers and the anti-VAXers continue to argue, and I suspect this article won’t change anyone’s mind. Still, two studies published in the past month have shown how unrelated vaccines have had unanticipated beneficial effects.
The first article reports on the shingles vaccine. To refresh your memory, shingles is caused by the chickenpox virus, which lives in a nerve cell next to your spinal cord throughout your entire life. For multiple reasons, the most common being stress, the virus travels down the nerve and erupts on the skin in painful blisters. The vaccine helps prevent this eruption and the horrible pain that can persist even after the rash clears.
Even more troublesome is the fact that this virus causes inflammation in the brain and the heart, which leads to a smoldering infection, resulting in a greater risk for heart attack, stroke, dementia and earlier death. The vaccine, by preventing the virus from erupting on the skin, acts to keep the virus in check, so it doesn’t spread to the brain and heart. The results after 3.5 years showed an average of 22% reduction in heart attack, stroke and mortality. The risk for dementia was cut in half!
The second article, found in the journal Nature, reports on the marked beneficial effect of the Covid-19 vaccine in those with Stage 4 lung cancer and melanoma (both rapidly fatal) who were taking a chemotherapy (immunotherapy) known as checkpoint inhibitors (think Keytruda, Opdivo).
To understand why this works, a bit of background on cancer. Cancer develops because our immune system fails to kill the rogue cancer cells during their initial development. Checkpoint inhibitor drugs work by allowing the immune system to be more active and attack the foreign invading cancer cells. It appears that the Covid-19 vaccine, due to its messenger RNA structure, further activates the immune system, allowing for a greater anticancer response. The results show that those with small-cell lung cancer receiving the Covid-19 vaccine and on checkpoint inhibitors extended their survival time from 20 months to 37 months, almost doubling their survival time. Similarly, those with metastatic melanoma on immunotherapy and having had the Covid-19 vaccine extended their survival from 27 months to 40 months.
Fighting cancer, shingles, what’s next? Stay tuned because we are still early in learning about the power of our incredible immune system.
Dr. Charlie Barnett is a contributor to KnoxTNToday, where he writes a weekly column, DocTalk, sharing his expertise on health and wellness management.
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