Scientists Study Man Who Received 217 Vaccine Shots and Are Incredibly Puzzled by the Results

By: Julia Mehalko | Published: Mar 22, 2024

A 62-year-old man in Germany has claimed he has received 217 vaccines for COVID-19 in the last 29 months. Upon making this claim, scientists reached out to study his body and see how he was adapting to these vaccines.

Many theories were posited about what his immune system and overall health would be like. However, scientists quickly grew surprised at what they found — and what they didn’t.

A Man Received 217 COVID-19 Vaccines

A few years ago, a man in Germany’s story hit the news after he stated he would keep getting vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, he would receive these shots to sell proof of vaccination cards.

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A man wearing a mask receiving a vaccine shot from a person wearing gloves, a mask, and a face shield.

Source: Steven Cornfield/Unsplash

His goal was to sell these cards to those who were unvaccinated and didn’t want to get the COVID-19 shot. 

Scientists Hear This Intriguing Story

Scientists in Germany first heard about this man by reading the news. Normally, they don’t recommend people getting this overload of vaccines. However, they were intrigued to discover more about the man’s story.

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Many clear bottles of COVID-19 vaccines on a white surface, properly labeled.

Source: Braňo/Unsplash

So, interested in learning about how his health was, they reached out to him. He agreed to allow researchers to study his immune system to see how it was working. 

Hypervaccination

Researchers studying this man have claimed they do not, in any way, encourage anybody to get many unnecessary vaccinations. They have said they “do not endorse hypervaccination as a strategy to enhance adaptive immunity.”

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A person wearing white gloves using a needle to extract a vaccine from a bottle.

Source: Mufid Majnun/Unsplash

However, as this man had already gotten more than two hundred vaccines, they were interested to see how this mass amount of vaccines might be impacting his body.

Theories on Hypervaccination

There have been many theories about what would happen to a human body if it received too many vaccinations. Some scientists believe that too many injections could trigger an excessive immune reaction.

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Many glass bottles of COVID-19 vaccinations on a white surface.

Source: Mathurin NAPOLY/matnapo/Unsplash

Others theorize that over-vaccination could result in making immune cells fatigued — and therefore less responsive to fighting a potential virus. 

The Amount and Types of Vaccines

Scientists first took a look at exactly how many shots this man received. According to official records, he got at least 130 vaccines in two and a half years. Of these, he had eight different kinds of vaccine types. For the most part, a majority of these jabs were received in just nine months.

A person wearing a mask receives a bandaid over a vaccination by a health official wearing a mask.

Source: CDC/Unsplash

Once they officially kept a record of the amount and types of vaccines this man had gotten, they then took a look at his immune system. Very quickly, they became surprised. 

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A Look at an Immune System

Researchers discovered after assessment that this man’s immune system was fine. It was fully functional. There was nothing amiss with his system, and he didn’t seem to have any symptoms from such a high amount of vaccines.

A rendering of a COVID-19 virus in red, blue, and green.

Source: Fusion Medical Animation/Unsplash

Immunologist Kilian Schober of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) explained this interesting analysis. “The observation that no noticeable side effects were triggered in spite of this extraordinary hypervaccination indicates that the drugs have a good degree of tolerability,” Schober said.

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His Immune System’s Response

Scientists then looked at how his immune system would theoretically respond to a COVID-19 virus. One prevalent theory on hypervaccination is that it would mess up one’s immune system — and leave it unable to fight the virus it’s supposed to.

A person wearing glasses and a mask gives another person a vaccine shot.

Source: Mathurin NAPOLY / matnapo/Unsplash

However, researchers realized this man had a large amount of T-effector cells. These cells help promote an immune system’s response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

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No Fatigued Cells

Scientists then checked to see if the man had fatigued cells — another common theory associated with over-vaccinating. Again, they found this theory wasn’t true. They couldn’t find any fatigued cells.

A doctor wearing gloves and a face shield looks at a tray of cells and virus cells.

Source: CDC/Unsplash

“Overall,” immunologist and leading author Katarina Kocher explained, “we did not find any indication for a weaker immune response, rather the contrary.”

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Another Vaccine Jab

To further test his immune system’s response to these many vaccinations, researchers gave the man another shot. This time, however, they were there to see what happened to his body upon receiving one more jab.

A person with glasses extracts a vaccine from a bottle by using a shot.

Source: Steven Cornfield/Unsplash

Scientists discovered his antibodies that fight SARS-CoV-2 increased significantly. Clearly, this goes against the many theories that analysts had when discussing over-vaccination. 

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Scientists Warn Against Hypervaccination

Even though this man received more than 200 COVID-19 vaccinations and seems to have no severe symptoms from it, scientists are warning against others doing the same thing. 

Two COVID-19 vaccine bottles in white and blue on a white surface.

Source: Spencer Davis/Unsplash

The vaccine can still have a positive effect on one’s body, even in excess, as this man’s case proves. However, scientists warn that this extreme case does not mean everybody will fare as this man has if they also get many shots.

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What Researchers Now Know

Though this extreme case isn’t something scientists necessarily want to become the norm, they have learned quite a bit from this over-vaccinated man. It has allowed researchers to understand how a body reacts — both positively and negatively — after many shots.  

A man wearing a blue mask extracts a vaccine from a bottle using a needle.

Source: Prasesh Shiwakoti (Lomash)/Unsplash

However, they still believe a small amount of COVID-19 vaccines is the best policy. “Current research indicates that a three-dose vaccination, coupled with regular top-up vaccines for vulnerable groups, remains the favored approach,” Schober stated.

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