Interpreting autoimmune risks in the COVID-19 vaccine literature: A two-phase qualitative coding protocol on biological mechanisms and epistemic integrity

The effect of COVID-19 vaccine given during pregnancy on premature infants is unknown. This study aims to determine the association between maternal COVID-19 vaccine with postnatal outcome in premature infants. This is a single-centre retrospective case-control study of infants born before 35 weeks gestation to mothers who received SARS-CoV-2 vaccine during pregnancy compared with infant born to non-vaccinated mothers. A total of 78 infants in each group were included. Infants in the vaccinated group had less respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (p = 0.02) and less need for respiratory support (p = 0.002), and maternal vaccine had a protective effect on RDS [adjustable OR 0.38 (0.17-0.85)]. Vaccination during the first compared to the second trimester was associated with earlier gestational age (32.3 ± 2.1 vs. 33.3 ± 1.1 weeks, p = 0.03). We demonstrated that maternal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is not associated with postnatal adverse effect in premature infants and potentially has a protective effect on RDS. Earlier gestational age among the infants born to mothers who received COVID-19 vaccine during the first trimester did not translate to higher rate of postnatal complications. These findings might suggest that COVID-19 vaccine is safe in high-risk pregnancies, but timing of administration should be considered. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and the biological mechanism.

This systematic review and meta-analysis examines the correlation between COVID-19 vaccination and cardiac arrest-related deaths in people ages 12 to 30 years. With the whole world embarking on vaccination programs to mitigate the pandemic, there have beenconcerns as to rare but severe side effects especially in youthful populations. The research rigorously searched five leading databases of peer-reviewed studies published between December 2020 and April 2024, with 15 studies being accepted as meeting the inclusion criteria. These were cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies with more than 106,000 participants. The effect size of the overall analysis was small (OR = 1.36, 95% CI [1.05, 1.77]) but statistically significant (p = 0.02). Subgroup analyses revealed an increased likelihood in males, those of age 1825, and those that received mRNA based vaccines like Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Sensitivity analysis proved that the findings are not sensitive to change, and a lack of any statistically significant publication bias was found. Although there is moderate heterogeneity, the findings indicate that there is a need to have special post-vaccination cardiac monitoring particularly on high-risk groups. The study does not call into question the great benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, but it points to the need to improve safety measures and clear communication. Study quality, geographic distribution, and outcome definitions are subject to limitations due to variability. The results support the necessity of longitudinal, large-scale, and mechanistic studies in the future to investigate the causality and biological mechanisms. The study presents the critical evidence that can inform the creation of public health policy, clinical practice, and studies to focus on what can make vaccines safer and less dangerous to younger age groups in the future.

This systematic review evaluated psychiatric adverse events (AEs) following vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We included studies that reported or investigated psychiatric AEs in individuals who had received an approved COVID-19 vaccine in the Republic of Korea. Systematic electronic searches of Ovid-Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, and KoreaMed databases were conducted on March 22, 2023. Risk of bias was assessed using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Non-randomized Studies 2.0. The study protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42023449422). Of the 301 articles initially selected, 7 were included in the final analysis. All studies reported on sleep disturbances, and 2 highlighted anxiety-related AEs. Sleep disorders like insomnia and narcolepsy were the most prevalent AEs, while depression was not reported. Our review suggests that these AEs may have been influenced by biological mechanisms as well as the broader psychosocial context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although this study had limitations, such as a primary focus on the BNT162b2 vaccine and an observational study design, it offered a systematic, multi-vaccine analysis that fills a critical gap in the existing literature. This review underscores the need for continued surveillance of psychiatric AEs and guides future research to investigate underlying mechanisms, identify risk factors, and inform clinical management.

Myocarditis After SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination: True, True, and… Related?

Characteristics associated with serological COVID-19 vaccine response and durability in an older population with significant comorbidity: author's response

In the era of Covid 19 and mass vaccination programs, the anti-vaccination movement across the world is currently at an all-time high. Much of this anti-vaccination sentiment could be attributed to the alleged side effects that are perpetuated across social media from anti-vaccination groups. Fear mongering and misinformation being peddled by people with no scientific training to terrorise people into staying unvaccinated is not just causing people to remain susceptible to viral outbreaks, but could also be causing more side effects seen in the vaccination process. This brief review will offer data that may demonstrate that misinformation perpetuated by the anti-vaccination movement may be causing more deaths and side effects from any vaccine. A mini review of published literature has been conducted and found that mental stress clearly causes vasoconstriction and arterial constriction of the blood vessels. Therefore, if subjects are panicked, concerned, stressed or scared of the vaccination, their arteries will constrict and become smaller in and around the time of receiving the vaccine. This biological mechanism (the constriction of veins, arteries and vessels under mental stress) is the most likely cause for where there has been blood clots, strokes, heart attacks, dizziness, fainting, blurred vision, loss of smell and taste that may have been experienced shortly after vaccine administration. The extreme mental stress of the patient could most likely be attributed to the fear mongering and scare tactics used by various anti-vaccination groups. This paper does not aim to rule in or out every side effect seen, but it is highly likely that many apparent side effects seen shortly after a subject has received a vaccine could be the result of restricted or congested blood flow from blood vessel or arterial constriction caused by emotional distress or placebo based on fear around vaccines.

The β cell stress hypothesis suggests that any phenomenon that induces insulin resistance, and thereby extra pressure on the β cells, should be regarded as a risk factor for type 1 diabetes (T1D). Psychological stress decreases insulin sensitivity and increases insulin resistance and may hence be important in the development/onset of T1D. The aim of the current review article was to evaluate existing empirical evidence concerning an association between psychological stress and development/onset of T1D as well as diabetes-related autoimmunity. Ten retrospective case-control studies were found. Nine studies showed a positive association between stress and development/onset of T1D in children, adolescents or adults. One study did not find an association between stress and development/onset of T1D. An association between stress and diabetes-related autoimmunity was found at 1 and 2– 3 years of age in a large epidemiological study of the general population. The hypothesis that psychological stress (via β cell stress or direct influence on the immune system) may contribute to the induction or progression of diabetes-related autoimmunity has gained some strong initial support, but is in need of further empirical verification. It seems much clearer that stress can precipitate manifest T1D, although the biological mechanisms are still not known.

As specific autoimmune disorders now constitute established risk factors for malignant lymphomas, we describe this association. We review reported risk levels, risk determinants, lymphoma subtypes and biological mechanisms in autoimmunity/inflammation, emphasizing on recent findings. Whilst numerous reports describe average lymphoma risks in large patient groups, there's a recent shift of focus to risk determinants and the role of inflammatory activity. Studies highlight associations with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, apart from lymphoma development in target organs of inflammation. Future studies of high-risk patient subsets using detailed assessments of autoimmunity/inflammation and lymphoma may give important clues to lymphomagenesis.

Dissecting Regulatory Mechanisms Underlying Noncoding GWAS SNPs on 20 Autoimmune Disease

Linking interdisciplinary and multiscale approaches to improve healthspan—a new UK model for collaborative research networks in ageing biology and clinical translation

Understanding the biological success of SARS-CoV-2: Immunoevasion strategies and beyond

Autoimmune diseases arise from complex interactions between genetic susceptibility, immune regulation, and tissue-specific inflammatory processes, yet most risk variants identified by genome-wide association studies occur in non-coding regions with poorly defined biological functions. This review addresses the challenge of interpreting non-coding regulatory variants in autoimmunity by synthesizing emerging analytical frameworks that integrate functional genomics, single-cell profiling, spatial transcriptomics, and multi-omics data. We describe stepwise strategies that refine statistical associations through regulatory annotation, immune cell-state resolution, and perturbational evidence, highlighting complementary approaches such as massively parallel reporter assays, transcriptome-wide association studies, and single-cell expression quantitative trait locus mapping. These methods demonstrate that many autoimmune risk variants exert context-dependent effects that emerge only in specific immune cell states, activation trajectories, or tissue microenvironments. Advances in spatial and chromatin-informed technologies further clarify how regulatory variation shapes immune circuits in diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Finally, we discuss how machine learning-enabled multi-omics integration supports molecular endotyping and therapeutic inference while emphasizing interpretability and reproducibility. Collectively, this review highlights a shift from static variant annotation toward dynamic, context-aware analytical frameworks that enable mechanism-informed interpretation of genetic risk in autoimmune disease.

Objective: To analyze the complex synergistic interaction between Covid-19 and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), exploring the clinical and epidemiological implications of this co-infection. It also seeks to evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges faced by co-infected patients and to discuss public health strategies. Methodology: It is a systematic review focused on understanding the main aspects of Covid-19 co-infection and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). The research was guided by the question: 'What are the biological and immunological mechanisms underlying the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and GBS and how do they affect susceptibility, disease progression and clinical manifestations of patients?'. To find answers, we searched the PubMed database using four descriptors combined with the Boolean term "AND": Guillain-Barre Syndrome, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, and COVID-19 Vaccines. This resulted in 562 articles. 14 articles were selected for analysis. Results: The reviewed evidence shows a significant association between COVID-19 and the development of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), especially in older men. The pathogenesis suggests that the inflammatory response triggered by COVID-19 may contribute to the emergence of GBS. The infection aggravates respiratory complications in patients with GBS, increasing the need for early ventilation. Immunomodulatory therapies, such as intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), are effective and safe in the management of these patients Conclusion:The review highlights the importance of early diagnosis and close clinical monitoring to improve outcomes.

BackgroundRare cases of Kawasaki disease (KD) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) have been reported following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination; however, the association between COVID-19 vaccination and the risk of developing KD/MIS-C has not yet been established.MethodsWe conducted a self-controlled case series analysis using a large-linked database that connects the COVID-19 immunization registry with nationwide claims data. We identified individuals aged < 18 years who received their initial COVID-19 vaccination and had a KD/MIS-C diagnosis with a prescription for intravenous immunoglobulin or corticosteroids between October 18, 2021, and April 15, 2023. The observation period was set as 240 days from the date of the COVID-19 vaccination. The risk window was 60 days after vaccination, with the remaining observation period serving as the control window. The incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in the risk versus control windows were estimated using the conditional Poisson regression model. We further analyzed the vaccine doses and types for secondary analysis. We also performed subgroup analyses stratified by sex, age, comorbidities, and other conditions and sensitivity analyses by varying the length of the risk window and outcome definition.ResultsAmong 2,369,490 individuals who received the COVID-19 vaccination, 12 cases of KD/MIS-C were identified, which included five and seven patients in the risk and control windows, respectively. There was no increased risk of KD/MIS-C within the 60-day period of vaccination (IRR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.17–1.60). Secondary subgroup and sensitivity analyses showed no significant increase in the risk of KD/MIS-C after COVID-19 vaccination, which is consistent with the results of the main analysis.ConclusionThe results of this nationwide study suggest that the risk of developing KD/MIS-C did not increase after COVID-19 vaccination. However, owing to the lack of a sufficient number of cases, future studies utilizing multinational long-term follow-up databases should be conducted. Considering the increasing incidence of KD/MIS-C and the limited understanding of its precise biological mechanisms, additional research on KD/MIS-C is warranted.

Owing to adverse event following immunization (AEFI) related to autoimmune disorders and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines sharing common biological mechanisms, identifying the risk of AEFIs associated with COVID-19 vaccines remains a critical unmet need. We aimed to assess the potential safety signals for 16 AEFIs and explore co-reported adverse events (AEs) and drugs using the global database of the World Health Organization, VigiBase. We assessed the occurrence of 16 AEFIs following COVID-19 vaccination through the Standardized MedDRA Queries group "Immune-mediated/Autoimmune Disorders" from MedDRA and performed a disproportionality analysis using reporting odds ratio (ROR) and information component (IC) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We identified 25,219 events associated with COVID-19 vaccines in VigiBase. Although rare, we detected four potential safety signals related to autoimmune disorders following COVID-19 vaccination, including ankylosing spondylitis or psoriatic arthritis (ROR 1.86; 95% CI 1.53-2.27), inflammatory bowel disease (ROR 1.77; 95% CI 1.60-1.96), polymyalgia rheumatica (ROR 1.42; 95% CI 1.30-1.55), and thyroiditis (ROR 1.40; 95% CI 1.30-1.50), with positive IC025 values. The top co-reported AEs were musculoskeletal disorders, and immunosuppressants were the most representative co-reported drugs. In addressing the imperative to comprehend AEFI related to autoimmune disorders following COVID-19 vaccination, our study identified four potential safety signals. Thus, our research underscores the importance of proactive safety monitoring for the identification of the four AEFIs following COVID-19 vaccination, considering the associated advantages.