Archive for the ‘research’ Category

Lost Signals: Study Shows VAERS Buries Vaccine Harm & CDC, FDA Admit to Using ‘Mostly Useless’ Tool

https://imahealth.substack.com/p/lost-signals-new-study-shows-how?

Lost Signals: New Study Shows How VAERS Buries Vaccine Harm

VAERS already catches only a fraction of vaccine harm. New research by Jessica Rose reveals the system is losing even more data to fixable flaws.
Independent Medical Alliance
Mar 31, 2026

America’s vaccine safety system already catches only a fraction of the harm that occurs. That much has been known for years. VAERS is a passive reporting system, and most adverse events are never reported at all.

But what happens to the data that does make it in?

A new study by Jessica Rose, a computational biologist, immunologist, and IMA Senior Fellow, shows that VAERS is losing critical safety data from the inside. The system’s own infrastructure is so outdated and poorly maintained that real signals of harm are being buried by fixable data problems. When Rose cleaned the data and reassembled what had been scattered, she found safety signals for fetal loss and cardiac arrest that had been there all along, invisible to anyone using the system as designed.

“The main claim to fame here is that I pointed out some of the problems inherent in VAERS that most people, unless they’re using it as part of data analysis, wouldn’t really know about.” — Jessica Rose

📖 Read and Download the Full Paper

Minimizing Signal Loss and Optimizing Pharmacovigilance in VAERS (JIM Vol. 2, No. 2, 2026) — Author: Jessica Rose

👉 Visit the Journal of Independent Medicine to create a free account and download the full article.

What’s Broken in VAERS?

VAERS was built in the 1980s and has operated with the same basic infrastructure ever since. Reports are submitted through an online form that takes about 30 minutes to fill out. There are no pull-down menus. No standardized formats for vaccine lot numbers or dates. The form has session timeouts that can erase a report before it’s finished. And the system creates multiple IDs for the same patient rather than linking a serious reaction to a follow-up death report.

The people filing reports experience these problems every time they sit down to submit one. But the people relying on the data to detect harm may never realize what’s being lost.

Rose showed just how small the fixes can be. Two simple corrections to vaccine lot numbers (capitalizing letters and removing stray spaces)  recovered 8,871 reports that had been invisible to analysis. Not because the data was missing. Because the system couldn’t recognize its own records.

(See link for article and video)

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https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/cdc-fda-admitted-mostly-useless-tool-detect-covid-vaccine-safety-signals/

CDC, FDA Admitted to Using ‘Mostly Useless’ Tool to Detect COVID Vaccine Safety Signals

Federal health officials knew the statistical tool they relied on to look for COVID-19 vaccination safety signals in VAERS was “mostly useless,” according to internal documents obtained by Sen. Ron Johnson and analyzed by scientists at Children’s Health Defense. CDC and FDA researchers used the tool anyway to create analyses they tried to publish that supported the vaccines’ safety.

by Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.
April 1, 2026
files and covid vaccine

Federal health officials knew that the statistical tool they relied on to look for COVID-19 vaccination safety signals in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) was “mostly useless,” according to internal documents obtained by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and analyzed by scientists at Children’s Health Defense (CHD).

The documents show that officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) internally acknowledged that the tool — empirical Bayesian (EB) data mining — had “blind spots” that rendered it “mostly useless” for picking up on safety signals of COVID-19 vaccines.

Yet, the agencies used the method in analyses and attempted to publish findings from those analyses — including studies that supported the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

Karl Jablonowski, Ph.D., CHD senior research scientist who analyzed the documents, told The Defender:

“Imagine a night watchman has to find something on the ground. But instead of holding a flashlight, he is wearing sunglasses. In the morning, he says he didn’t find anything. That’s true, but it’s because he was using a tool that impeded his ability to see.”

The records obtained by Johnson’s office include emails between CDC and FDA researchers from 2021 to 2023, along with draft manuscripts and peer reviewer comments.

In one case, researchers sought to publish an analysis in The Lancet Infectious Diseases using EB data mining on early COVID-19 vaccine data. They dropped the plan only after a reviewer wrote that the likelihood of detecting a safety signal using the method was “likely close to zero.”

FDA official Dr. David Menschik, who initially was a co-author on the paper, wrote to the study’s lead author in December 2021 saying he knew the method was essentially useless.

“We acknowledged this in the limitations and understand that there is a considerable bias toward the null when using our data mining methods in this current, unprecedented situation,” he wrote.  (See link for article)

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Category:

Activism, research, vaccines

GBS as an Initial Manifestation of Lyme Disease: Diagnostic Challenges

https://www.cureus.com/articles/467640-guillain-barr-syndrome-as-the-initial-manifestation-of-lyme-disease-diagnostic-challenges

Guillain-Barré Syndrome as the Initial Manifestation of Lyme Disease: Diagnostic Challenges

Ahmed Elnour • Naveed Sultan • Abdul Monem • Khalid Ghalib

Published: March 20, 2026

DOI: 10.7759/cureus.105552

Open Access
Peer-Reviewed

Cite this article as: Elnour A, Sultan N, Monem A, et al. (March 20, 2026) Guillain-Barré Syndrome as the Initial Manifestation of Lyme Disease: Diagnostic Challenges. Cureus 18(3): e105552. doi:10.7759/cureus.105552

Abstract

Lyme disease is a common tick-borne infection in the United States and Europe that may involve the nervous system during the disseminated stage. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute immune-mediated polyneuropathy usually triggered by infection; however, its association with Borrelia burgdorferi is uncommon and can pose diagnostic challenges.

We report the case of a previously healthy 61-year-old female patient who presented with progressive ascending weakness and areflexia suggestive of GBS. During hospitalisation, she developed bilateral facial nerve palsy, prompting further evaluation. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings and electrophysiological studies supported acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, while serologic testing confirmed Lyme disease. The patient received intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) followed by intravenous ceftriaxone and achieved complete neurological recovery.

This case emphasizes the need to consider Lyme disease in patients presenting with acute inflammatory neuropathy, particularly in endemic regions, as early diagnosis and targeted therapy can significantly improve outcomes.

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**Comment**

The researchers state that the association between GBS with Lyme is uncommon, yet nobody is counting cases!  How can they know?

Answer: they don’t.  They shouldn’t state things that are pure conjecture.

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Category:

Lyme, research, vaccines, Viruses

A Bacterial Toxin Facilitating Chronic Infection

https://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news/detail/a-bacterial-toxin-facilitating-chronic-infection

A bacterial toxin facilitating chronic infection

Some pathogens persist in the body causing chronic infections. Researchers led by Prof. Christoph Dehio and Prof. Tilman Schirmer at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, have now discovered a mechanism of highly selective targeting of host proteins by a bacterial toxin that is critical for the bacteria to establish chronic infection. The study recently published in “PNAS” provides new insights into the activity and function of bacterial toxins.

The bacterial pathogen Bartonella (purple) in interaction with human host cells (green).

When pathogens invade our body the immune system is put on alert. The body’s immune cells are recruited to the site of infection and an inflammatory reaction is initiated to rapidly eliminate the invaders. Some pathogens, however, have developed clever strategies to evade this line of defense. Bartonella is one of them. Manipulating the body’s cells to its advantage enables the pathogen to persist in the host.

Researchers led by Prof. Christoph Dehio and Prof. Tilman Schirmer at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, have now elucidated an important mechanism how Bartonella  ensures long-term survival in the body. It injects a bacterial toxin into the body’s cells, which deactivates a specific group of proteins important for the immune response. This mechanism is vital for the pathogen’s capacity to cause chronic infection.

Bacterial toxins modulate signaling pathways in host cells

In mammalian cells, so-called Rho GTPases serve as molecular ON-OFF switches controlling a wide range of signaling pathways and thus pivotal cellular activities, such as cell movement, cytoskeletal dynamics and also the innate immune response. Due to their central regulatory role, this protein family is a target of choice for bacterial toxins. These thwart cellular signaling and facilitate the pathogen to survive in the host. However, many bacterial toxins targeting multiple GTPases cause massive collateral damage to the cells and typically limits pathogen survival to the acute infection phase.

Bartonella subtly colonizes the host

In contrast, Bartonella hijacks the host in a “gentle” way. The pathogen employs toxins that very selectively target host cell functions. In doing so, Bartonella reduces the efficacy of the immune system without causing collateral damage, enabling the pathogen to persist in the host. “We have now been able to elucidate the mechanism of highly selective recognition of specific host proteins by the Bartonella toxin Bep 1,” says Dehio. “Bep 1 exclusively targets proteins of the Rac-subfamily but not the other members of the large Rho GTPase family that are typically inactivated all together by toxins with primary acute infection patterns.”

Elucidating bacterial toxin selectivity

Employing a combination of structural analysis, modeling and biochemical methods, the researchers have now been able to elucidate the mechanism underlying this unique target selectivity. “The spectrum of target proteins is determined by large on shape complementarity and the electrostatic interactions of a short structural element in Bep1 with two protein segments unique to the Rac-subfamily,” explains Dehio. This simple, yet elegant, evolutionary treat equips Bartonella with a precise molecular tool to selectively interfere with host signaling.

Original publication:
Nikolaus Dietz, Markus Huber, Isabel Sorg, Arnaud Goepfert, Alexander Harms, Tilman Schirmer and Christoph Dehio. Structural basis for selective AMPylation of Rac-subfamily GTPases by Bartonella effector protein 1 (Bep1). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) 2021

Contact: Communications, Katrin Bühler

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**Comment**

This right here, is why patients remain sick.  We are typically filled with multiple stealth pathogens with the capability to quietly impede the normal mechanisms the body uses to clear infections.  Sadly, Bartonella is not the only organism capable of this guerrilla warfare – Borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme disease also changes its outer surface protein to remain cloaked and accepted by the immune system.  If antimicrobials are used, it also has the ability to shape shift and go into a dormant state only to reemerge when conditions are conducive for growth.

When will mainstream medicine get the memo?

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Category:

Bartonella, research

Study Identifies 86 Serious Neuropsychiatric Safety Signals Linked to COVID-19 Shots

https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-study-identifies-86-serious

BREAKING: Study Identifies 86 Serious Neuropsychiatric Safety Signals Linked to COVID-19 Vaccination

CDC/FDA safety thresholds breached for 86 adverse events including dementia, schizophrenia, suicidal and homicidal thoughts, stroke, psychosis, depression, cognitive impairment, delusions, and more.
Apr 14, 2025

By Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

The study by Thorp et al titled, Association between COVID-19 Vaccination and Neuropsychiatric Conditions, was just uploaded to the Preprints.org preprint server. They analyzed VAERS data from January 1990 through December 2024 and identified alarming increases in 86 adverse events related to brain function, behavior, and cognition following COVID-19 mRNA injection:

Introduction: COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are known to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and could potentially cause a myriad of unintended adverse effects. The purpose of this study is to explore potential associations between vaccination and neuropsychiatric conditions.

Methods: Data were collected from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The CDC/FDA Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) was queried from January 1, 1990, to December 27, 2024, for adverse events (AEs) involving neuropsychiatric complications following COVID-19 vaccination. The timeframe included 420 months for all vaccines except COVID-19 vaccines which have been available to the public for only 48 of the 420 months (from January 1, 2021, to December 27, 2024). Proportional reporting ratios (PRRs) were calculated by time comparing AEs after COVID-19 vaccination to those after influenza vaccination and to those after all other vaccines. The CDC/FDA stipulates a safety concern if a PRR is ≥ 2.

Results: Comparing COVID-19 vaccination to influenza vaccinations, the CDC/FDA’s safety signals (PRR, 95% confidence interval, p-value, Z-score) were breached for the following combinations: 47 AEs associated with cognitive impairment (PRR: 118, 95% CI: 87.2-160, p < 0.0001, Z-score: 30.9); 28 AEs associated with general psychiatric illness (PRR: 115, 95% CI: 85.1-156, p < 0.0001, Z-score: 30.8); and 11 AEs associated with suicide/homicide (PRR: 80.1, 95% CI: 57.3-112, p < 0.0001, Z-score: 25.7). Likewise, when comparing COVID-19 vaccination to all other vaccines except COVID-19, the safety signals were also breached for the following: 47 AEs associated with cognitive impairment (PRR: 26.8, 95% CI: 19.8-36.1, p < 0.0001, Z-score: 21.5); 28 AEs associated with general psychiatric illness (PRR: 28.6, 95% CI: 21.2-38.6, p < 0.0001, Z-score: 21.9); and 11 AEs associated with suicide/homicide (PRR: 14.0, 95% CI: 10.3-19.0, p < 0.0001, Z-score: 16.8).

Conclusions: There are alarming safety signals regarding neuropsychiatric conditions following COVID-19 vaccination, compared to the influenza vaccinations alone and to all other vaccinations combined. These data raise concerns about long-term consequences, including continued cognitive decline, dementia, and neuropsychiatric morbidity and mortality. An immediate global moratorium on COVID-19 vaccination is warranted.  (See link for article)

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**Comment**

Psychosis, schizophrenia, delusion, delirium, and brain injury, along with Alzheimer’s depression, sleep disorders, and hemorrhagic stroke all listed…..

Why these kill shots are still on the market defies ALL logic and sanity.

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Category:

Activism, Psychological Aspects, research, vaccines, Viruses

Best Herbal Antibiotic Plans for Lyme, Bartonella, and Babesia

https://treatlyme.com/guide/best-herbal-antibiotics-for-lyme-bartonella-babesia/

Best Herbal Antibiotic Plans for Lyme, Bartonella, and Babesia

By Dr. Marty Ross

best-herbal-antibiotics-for-lyme-bartonella-babesia
Updated: January 24, 2025

Science Meets Buhner for Best Herbal Antibiotic Options

History Speaks

Historically, most herbal antibiotic regimens for used tick-borne infections are based on the writings and experience of master herbalist Stephen Buhner. His work is science related. However, most of the herbal antibiotics he recommends do not have actual studies showing they work in the lab or in humans for killing specific tick-borne infections. For instance, he recommends Andrographis to kill Borrelia based on science showing it kills another spirochete called Leptospirosis. And Buhner recommends Sida Acuta to address Babesia because it is used as an antimalarial, even though there is no research showing it works for Babesia.

Buhner’s writings occurred before the discovery of persister Borrelia (Lyme) and Bartonella which I describe below. So, his writings did not specifically address how to deal with these hibernation forms of germs.

Enter Science

Over the last few years, researchers are rushing to find new ways to kill the terrible Bs (Borrelia, Bartonella, and Babesia). Some of the interest in looking at herbal medicine options is the discovery of hibernating persister growth states of Borrelia and Bartonella that do not respond to classic herbal medicines or prescription regimens that target growing states of these germs. Out of this laboratory work, we now know that Buhner’s Andrographis does not work against Borrelia, but many other agents do.

In 2023 Shor and Schweig published their review of newer laboratory studies showing which herbal medicines work in the lab to kill the growing, persister, and biofilm states of Borrelia and Bartonella. This work also reveals numerous agents that can kill Babesia. Table 1. below is drawn from the Shor-Schwieg article. My table is more limited than the one published in their paper but focuses on what I have found clinically to be the most relevant herbal antibiotics.

Table 1. Herbal Antibiotic Actions

How to Interpret Table 1
  • About G P B. Borrelia and Bartonella exist in growing states, hibernation states, and biofilm communities. The growing states are also called active states. The hibernators are also called persisters or stationary states. Biofilms are mostly known as biofilms. I prefer to use the terms growing (G), persister (P) and biofilms (B) while Shor and Schweig refer to active, stationary, and biofilm states. Keep this in mind if you review their article and more extensive table.
  • About Blank. In some instances, a blank space in the table means the research did not look to see if an herbal agent actually addresses the identified problem. For instance, Zhang and colleagues showed that cinnamon, clove, and oregano oils kill Borrelia biofilms, but their research did not look at whether these herbal oils help Bartonella biofilm. Given the similarity of biofilm structures, cinnamon, clove and oregano oils may actually be good agents against Bartonella biofilms.
  • About Sida Acuta and Houttuynia. Buhner recommends Sida Acuta and Houttuynia to address Bartonella. He also recommends Sida Acuta for Babesia. These key herbal antibiotics are not included in my table or the work of Shor-Schweig because there was no research conducted looking at these agents. This does not mean they do not work, but based on science, we do not know.  (See link for article)

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**Comment**

The article gives numerous treatment options for each pathogen.  We can be extremely thankful to have all of this information in an easy to find and use format which is supported by science.

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Category:

Babesia, Bartonella, Herbs, Lyme, research, Treatment