A group of researchers last week released a small, preliminary paper theorizing that Covid-19 vaccines may be linked in rare cases to a constellation of lingering symptoms not dissimilar to those associated with long Covid.
They intended for their work to be the subject of academic discussion and to spur further study of what they dubbed “post-vaccination syndrome.” Instead, it has exploded online — and become a parable for the ways in which the internet is being used to weaponize basic vaccine research vital to advancing scientific knowledge about the safe use of these key products.
Alison Buttenheim, a professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania who studies vaccine acceptance and hesitancy, said it’s critically important that vaccine researchers follow the leads that emerge, regardless of whether the outcome exonerates or implicates a vaccine.