Key Points
- A man in Germany had over 200 COVID-19 vaccine shots in two and a half years.
- Researchers studied his immune response to see whether it had weakened or if there were any other adverse effects.
- They found no adverse effects but warned against generalising the findings of the single case study.
A German man who was reportedly vaccinated against COVID-19 more than 200 times has taken part in research to study the effects of 'hyper-vaccination' on his body.
The 62-year-old went and had 217 shots over 29 months, according to a peer-reviewed study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.
Academics contacted the man after he appeared in a newspaper and asked if he could undergo some tests so they could examine his immune response to hyper-vaccination.
Why did the man get vaccinated so many times?
The unidentified man reportedly had such a large number of doses for "deliberate and private reasons", said the researchers from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
The team acquired official documentation for 134 jabs of eight different vaccines, which were collected by Germany's public prosecutor when the man was investigated for fraud.
The man allegedly sold vaccination cards to people who did not want to get a COVID-19 vaccination but criminal charges were never filed.
It remains unclear how he was able to access so many doses of the vaccines.
Did the man who got 217 COVID-19 jabs suffer side effects?
The team noted that throughout the "entire hyper-vaccination schedule" the man "did not report any vaccination-related side effects".
And after examining blood and saliva samples the man voluntarily donated to researchers, the researchers found that, in the man's case, "hyper-vaccination did not lead to adverse events" or any related "abnormalities".
The man also showed no signs of ever being infected with COVID-19.
"While we found no signs of [COVID] breakthrough infections in [him] to date, it cannot be clarified whether this is causally related to the hyper-vaccination regimen," the researchers reported.
Experts warn against hyper-vaccination
The hundreds of shots boosted the quantity of spike-specific antibodies and T Cells, researchers said, but it didn't affect the quality of his immune system response.
"We do not endorse hyper-vaccination as a strategy to enhance adaptive immunity," the team concluded.
While the man's immune system responded well to each subsequent shot, researchers have cautioned against generalising the findings to the wider population.
In Australia, adults are encouraged to get a COVID-19 booster jab every 12 months alongside their influenza shot.
Anyone aged 65 and older and severely immunocompromised Australians between 18 and 64 years old is strongly encouraged to get a booster vaccine every six months.
The federal government updated its , after accepting advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group of Immunisation.
