A recent study links COVID-19 vaccines to a rare autoimmune disease called anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis.
The rare disease, an inflammatory condition characterized by skin lesions, muscle issues, and progressive lung disease, has been increasing since the COVID vaccine rollout.
Researchers focused their study in Yorkshire.
In 2019, only two people in the Yorkshire region tested positive for the disease, increasing to nine individuals by 2020.
Thirty-five cases of the autoimmune disease were reported in 2021, although cases decreased to sixteen by 2022.
“As for vaccinations, the overall uptake of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the UK and Yorkshire region was 90% and we saw a strong overlap between vaccination timing in 2021 and the surge in MDA5+ disease,” the researchers noted, adding, “Accordingly, most of the MDA5+ cases had either confirmed infection or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.”
Discussing their findings, the researchers wrote, “Our study is the largest one to document the features and outcomes of this clinical syndrome, especially in 2021. Approximately 42% of our MDA5+ cases have thus far have progressive ILD, with a third of these proving fatal so far.”
It is speculated that those with the disease had an “immune reaction” to either the COVID-19 virus or vaccination.
“Given the peak of MDA5 positivity testing followed the peak of COVID-19 cases in 2021, and coincided with the peak of vaccination, these findings suggest an immune reaction or autoimmunity against MDA5 upon SARS-CoV-2 and/or vaccine exposure,” the authors explained.
Other autoimmune disorders associated with the COVID-19 vaccine include small fiber neuropathy and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), according to a previous study published in the journal Science.
Researchers have also found evidence linking the COVID-19 vaccine to the development of inflammatory and autoimmune skin diseases, a study published in the Journal of the German Society of Dermatology detailed.
The diseases analyzed in the study included bullous pemphigoid, pemphigus vulgaris, systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, lichen planus, and leukocytoclastic vasculitis.
