Scientists at Stanford University discover ‘Covid vaccines cause deadly heart damage’

For years, scientists have puzzled over a medical mystery. Young men and adolescent boys, after receiving their mRNA COVID vaccines, would sometimes develop chest pain, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations within days of their shots. Most recovered quickly. Some ended up in hospitals. A rare few faced severe outcomes.

Medical experts knew something was happening inside heart tissue. What they didn’t know was why.

Now, researchers at Stanford University believe they’ve found the answer. A study published in Science Translational Medicine has identified a biological chain reaction that explains how mRNA vaccines can trigger heart inflammation in a small subset of recipients. Even more intriguing, scientists may have stumbled upon an unlikely solution hiding in plain sight at your local grocery store.

Stanford Researchers Identify Two Proteins Behind Vaccine-Linked Myocarditis

A team led by Dr. Joseph Wu, director of Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, began their investigation by analyzing blood samples from vaccinated individuals. Some had developed myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, while others experienced no complications.

Comparing both groups revealed a striking difference. People who developed myocarditis showed elevated levels of two specific proteins in their blood. Named CXCL10 and IFN-gamma, these proteins belong to a class called cytokines, which are signaling substances that immune cells use to communicate with each other.

Wu and his colleagues designed laboratory experiments to understand how these proteins were being triggered. When they placed macrophages, a type of white blood cell that acts as a first responder against infection, into dishes containing mRNA vaccine material, cells began pumping out CXCL10.

Adding T cells to those same dishes produced another reaction. Exposed to an environment created by vaccine-stimulated macrophages, T cells released elevated amounts of IFN-gamma. However, when researchers placed T cells into dishes containing only vaccine material without macrophages present, IFN-gamma production stayed at normal levels.

A Two-Step Immune Response Gone Wrong

What emerged from these experiments was a picture of a two-step immune cascade. Macrophages respond first to a vaccine by releasing CXCL10. T cells then pick up on that signal and release IFN-gamma in response. Together, these two proteins amplify inflammation and draw additional immune cells into heart tissue.

Among those recruited are neutrophils, short-lived immune cells that function as aggressive first responders. While their job is to fight bacterial and fungal invaders, neutrophils and macrophages can cause collateral damage when they infiltrate healthy tissue. In young male mice that researchers vaccinated with Pfizer’s mRNA shot, scientists observed exactly that. Neutrophils and macrophages had infiltrated cardiac tissue, causing inflammation and injury to heart muscle cells.

Wu’s team confirmed the proteins’ direct role in cardiac injury through additional experiments. By blocking CXCL10 and IFN-gamma activity, they minimized infiltration of immune cells into heart tissue while largely preserving a vaccine’s ability to trigger protective immunity.

Using advanced technology, researchers also created “cardiac spheroids” from human cells. When treated with the inflammatory proteins, these miniature heart models showed significant stress markers. Squeezing capacity, beating rate, and other measures of healthy heart function all declined. Cytokine inhibitors partially restored normal function, further confirming the mechanism.

Young Men Face Higher Myocarditis Rates

Vaccine-associated myocarditis occurs at different rates depending on dose number and demographics. After a first dose, roughly one in 140,000 vaccinees develops myocarditis. After a second dose, that number rises to one in 32,000. Among male vaccinees aged 30 or younger, the incidence peaks at one in 16,750.

Symptoms appear quickly, usually within one to three days after receiving a shot. Chest pain, shortness of breath, fever, and palpitations are common complaints. Most affected individuals show high blood levels of cardiac troponin, a protein normally found only in the heart muscle. When it appears in circulating blood, it indicates damage to heart cells.

Fortunately, outcomes are usually positive. Most patients recover quickly with full heart function restored. Treatment often involves observation and supportive care rather than aggressive intervention.# Stanford Scientists Crack the Code on How mRNA COVID Vaccines Damage Heart Cells

For years, scientists have puzzled over a medical mystery. Young men and adolescent boys, after receiving their mRNA COVID vaccines, would sometimes develop chest pain, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations within days of their shots. Most recovered quickly. Some ended up in hospitals. A rare few faced severe outcomes.

Medical experts knew something was happening inside heart tissue. What they didn’t know was why.

Now, researchers at Stanford University believe they’ve found the answer. A study published in Science Translational Medicine has identified a biological chain reaction that explains how mRNA vaccines can trigger heart inflammation in a small subset of recipients. Even more intriguing, scientists may have stumbled upon an unlikely solution hiding in plain sight at your local grocery store.

Stanford Researchers Identify Two Proteins Behind Vaccine-Linked Myocarditis

A team led by Dr. Joseph Wu, director of Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, began its investigation by analyzing blood samples from vaccinated individuals. Some had developed myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, while others experienced no complications.

Comparing both groups revealed a striking difference. People who developed myocarditis showed elevated levels of two specific proteins in their blood. Named CXCL10 and IFN-gamma, these proteins belong to a class called cytokines, which are signaling substances that immune cells use to communicate with each other.

Wu and his colleagues designed laboratory experiments to understand how these proteins were being triggered. When they placed macrophages, a type of white blood cell that acts as a first responder against infection, into dishes containing mRNA vaccine material, cells began pumping out CXCL10.

Adding T cells to those same dishes produced another reaction. Exposed to an environment created by vaccine-stimulated macrophages, T cells released elevated amounts of IFN-gamma. However, when researchers placed T cells into dishes containing only vaccine material without macrophages present, IFN-gamma production stayed at normal levels.

A Two-Step Immune Response Gone Wrong

What emerged from these experiments was a picture of a two-step immune cascade. Macrophages respond first to a vaccine by releasing CXCL10. T cells then pick up on that signal and release IFN-gamma in response. Together, these two proteins amplify inflammation and draw additional immune cells into heart tissue.

Among those recruited are neutrophils, short-lived immune cells that function as aggressive first responders. While their job is to fight bacterial and fungal invaders, neutrophils and macrophages can cause collateral damage when they infiltrate healthy tissue. In young male mice that researchers vaccinated with Pfizer’s mRNA shot, scientists observed exactly that. Neutrophils and macrophages had infiltrated cardiac tissue, causing inflammation and injury to heart muscle cells.

Wu’s team confirmed the proteins’ direct role in cardiac injury through additional experiments. By blocking CXCL10 and IFN-gamma activity, they minimized infiltration of immune cells into heart tissue while largely preserving a vaccine’s ability to trigger protective immunity.

Using advanced technology, researchers also created “cardiac spheroids” from human cells. When treated with the inflammatory proteins, these miniature heart models showed significant stress markers. Squeezing capacity, beating rate, and other measures of healthy heart function all declined. Cytokine inhibitors partially restored normal function, further confirming the mechanism.

Soy Compound Genistein Shows Promise in Reducing Heart Damage

Wu had a hunch that hormones might play a role in the condition’s skew toward young men. Estrogen has known anti-inflammatory properties, which could explain why females experience myocarditis at lower rates. Following that logic, he revisited research his team had conducted a few years earlier on genistein, a mild estrogen-like compound derived from soybeans.

In a 2022 paper published in Cell, Wu’s team had identified genistein as having anti-inflammatory activity. Specifically, it showed the ability to counter marijuana-induced damage to blood vessels and heart tissue.

For the current study, researchers pre-treated cells, cardiac tissue models, and mice with genistein before exposing them to mRNA vaccines or the CXCL10 and IFN-gamma combination. Results were encouraging. Genistein blunted inflammatory protein surges and preserved heart function in laboratory models. In mice, it reduced cardiac injury markers and limited neutrophil and macrophage infiltration into heart tissue.

Wu noted that genistein used in experiments was purer and more concentrated than dietary supplements found in health food stores. Still, findings raise questions about whether naturally occurring soy compounds could theoretically soften inflammatory responses.

“Nobody ever overdosed on tofu,” Wu said, acknowledging genistein’s weak oral absorption.

COVID Infection Causes Myocarditis at Ten Times the Vaccine Rate

While vaccine-associated myocarditis has received intense media coverage and public scrutiny, Wu stressed that COVID infection itself poses a far greater myocarditis risk. According to his estimates, catching COVID is about ten times as likely to induce myocarditis as receiving an mRNA vaccine.

A national study in Israel found that the relative risk for developing myocarditis after vaccination was 3.2, while it was 18.3 after getting COVID. A large UK study from 2021 supported similar findings. Moderna’s second dose was linked to roughly 10 extra cases of myocarditis per million doses. By comparison, a bout of COVID was associated with about 40 cases per million.

Beyond myocarditis, COVID infection brings additional risks. Hospitalization, long-term cardiovascular complications, neurological problems, and death all occur at rates that dwarf vaccine complications. In their first year alone, COVID vaccines are estimated to have prevented nearly 20 million deaths worldwide, including more than a million in America. Millions of hospitalizations and long-term complications were also averted.

Wu was clear about his research. “The mRNA vaccines have done a tremendous job mitigating the COVID pandemic. Without these vaccines, more people would have gotten sick, more people would have had severe effects and more people would have died.”

FDA Launches Investigation Into Vaccine-Linked Deaths

Still, findings arrive at a time of renewed scrutiny over vaccine safety. Late last month, Dr. Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s vaccine division, sent a memo to staff referencing “no fewer than 10” child deaths “related” to the COVID vaccine based on data from VAERS, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

VAERS is a voluntary database where anyone can submit reports of vaccine side effects. Reports do not prove causation, and the FDA has emphasized it is conducting a thorough investigation into death reports in both children and adults thought to be linked to COVID vaccination.

Adding to uncertainty, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled 22 federal grants worth almost $500 million for mRNA vaccine projects in August. Kennedy stated that data showed these vaccines fail to protect against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. Researchers warned the decision would hamper progress in the field.

In September, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to shift from recommending COVID vaccination for everyone aged six months and older to advising Americans to make individual decisions based on personal circumstances.

What Scientists Say About the Future of mRNA Vaccine Safety

Wu believes the inflammatory response his team identified may extend beyond heart tissue. Preliminary evidence suggests lung, liver, and kidney tissue could also be affected. Genistein or similar compounds might potentially reverse those changes as well, though more research would be needed.

Other vaccines can also cause myocarditis and inflammatory problems, Wu noted, but symptoms tend to be less specific and receive less attention. mRNA vaccines’ risks have faced intense public scrutiny and media coverage. If someone gets chest pains from a COVID vaccine, they go to the hospital to get checked out. If they get achy muscles or joints from a flu vaccine, they tend to dismiss it.

About 270 million Americans, representing 81 percent of the population, have received at least one dose of an mRNA COVID vaccine. For the overwhelming majority, shots have proven safe and effective at preventing severe disease and death.

Wu’s research offers a window into what goes wrong in rare cases where complications occur. Understanding the mechanism opens doors to potential prevention strategies, whether through compounds like genistein or through modified vaccine formulations.

For now, Wu wants his findings to inform rather than alarm. According to the study, pharmacologic modulation such as genistein may mitigate cytokine-driven injury, pointing toward possible preventive measures for future mRNA vaccines.

As mRNA technology continues to expand into cancer treatments and other medical applications, understanding and addressing rare inflammatory side effects will become increasingly important. Wu’s work represents a step toward safer vaccines without sacrificing their remarkable protective benefits.