Concerns individuals with a history of Lyme disease have with the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Cameron discusses the case of a 45-year-old white woman who shared her concern with the COVID-19 vaccine. Her experience highlights the findings from a COVID-19 and Lyme disease Survey of 1,168 individuals, age 12 and over, all with a history of Lyme disease.
Cases of Lyme Disease and COVID-19
A 45-year-old white woman with a partial college education was working as a groundskeeper. She had a history of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, irritable bowel syndrome, and viral meningitis. She had been ill for 37 years. There was not a history of a deer tick bite or erythema migrans. Her IgG western blot Lyme disease test was positive for 5 of 10 bands. She had been treated with doxycycline for 30 days. She also has been treated with herbal medication, vitamin B-1, cat’s claw, saunas, steam rooms, an anti-Inflammatory diet, gluten-free diet, and Stevia. Nevertheless, she reported being chronically ill from her tick-borne illnesses.
She is not sure if she had COVID-19. She had a “weird cold and viral meningitis” confirmed by a lumbar puncture followed by a kidney infection.
Her GSQ-30 score of 30 was higher than individuals with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) but less than individuals with depression and Post Treatment Lyme disease Syndrome (PTLDS).1 The most significant symptoms on her GSQ-30 measure were feeling fatigued or having low energy, needing more sleep than usual, not feeling rested on wakening, feeling worse after normal physical activity, and trouble falling or staying asleep.
She reports being hesitant to take the vaccine but is likely to take it. She raised several concerns:
- I have not had a clear understanding of my risks with both Lyme and an autoimmune disease in taking this or any vaccine.
- But I do understand that contracting Covid-19 is likely much, much worse.
- Getting clear data on any of it, in layman’s terms, has been difficult to come by. My main concern has been losing time from work.
- I’m hoping to get my body in a better state before tackling the potential consequence of another vaccine.
- But I know COVID would be much worse. Just rolling the dice for now, I guess.
COVID-19 and Lyme disease
Over 1,000 individuals with a history of Lyme disease have shared their experience with or without contracting COVID-19 or taking the COVID-19 vaccine. I am finalizing a four part video series examining the results of a COVID-19 and Lyme Survey. The first four topics are as follow.
Part 1 – Lyme without COVID-19
Part 2 – Lyme with COVID-19
Part 5 – Side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine
Part 4 – Concerns with the COVID-19 vaccine
Links to video blogs in this COVID and Lyme series
- Severity of Lyme disease in a COVID-19 pandemic
- A 16-year-old girl and a 28-year-old woman with a history of Lyme disease shared their experiences after contracting COVID-19 – case discussion
- The experiences of individuals with a history of Lyme disease who contracted COVID-19
- 28-year-old woman with a history of Lyme disease describes side effects following her COVID-19 vaccine – a case discussion
- Side effects of COVID-19 vaccines in individuals with Lyme disease
- A 45-year-old woman who has been hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Next Lyme science blog
- Concerns of individuals with a history of Lyme disease who have been hesitant or have refused to take the vaccine. next Lyme science blog
I am sorry to say I prematurely posted a draft of Part 4 before finalizing the video series. I plan discuss this 45-year-old white woman concerns with the COVID-19 vaccine in the fourth of of part video series. Her experiences will highlight the findings from a COVID-19 and Lyme disease Survey of 1,168 individuals, age 12 and over, all with a history of Lyme disease.
Asherah Cinnamon
03/15/2022 (7:19 am)
I was diagnosed with Lyme two years ago. I live in the woods of Maine, USA and have been bitten by ticks multiple times. Am white, female, age 76, active as a sculptor and installation artist, working with wood I cut on my land……until Covid vaccine #2.
After multiple anti-biotics and Atovquone I was recovering from intense Lyme fatigue when I got Pfizer vaccine #1 with no significant side effects.
One month later the second shot made me very ill for 4 days with fever, aches, etc. That was 1 year ago. I have been unable to work in my studio at all due to intense fatigue, lethargy, and increasing brain fog. I have just completed 12 weeks of treatment with Maravarock and was finally seeing the possibility of studio work again … No lethargy and increasing energy. BUT the brain fog and poor concentration persisted. Then 2 weeks of anti deppressants prescribed for brain fog made everything worse, including lethargy again with fatigue and headaches. Stopped all meds now and am getting energy again. But Brainfog persists. Have there been any other treatments for post vaccine or post covid brainfog?
I am being told by my doctor not to get a Covid booster until I am well. This worries me.
Dr. Daniel Cameron
03/23/2022 (7:27 am)
I have had Lyme disease patients in my practice who have done poorly after contracting COVID-19 and have others that have flared up after their vaccine. I have started a COVID and Lyme Video series based on a large survey examining this issue. Here is the first video blog in the series. https://danielcameronmd.com/lyme-disease-and-covid-19-2/
Sue Klein
03/14/2022 (4:23 pm)
I have had covid twice. Th first time, was right at the beginning of it appearing in the UK, end of jan 2020 into Feb and I treated myself with homeopathic Causticum, because of the type of cough and my metal symptoms, and felt better the next day. I repeated it nightly at bedtime for three weeks and as it happened i was able to continue with my part time work as a music teacher , in the first week, and by the second week i was able to go back to the bands in which i play every week and play clarinet without coughing. The second time was a bit worse – i had had two vaccines and the booster, but I managed to catch it from a recorder student who had just got back from a school trip, and I do believe I started becoming sniffly shortly after I heard that she had tested positive for Covid. It soon went on to my chest. Because i have Chagas as well as Lyme , the remedy I now take is a high dose of Homeopathic Magnesium and I continued with that and recovered after a couple of weeks. No long Covid, and even this weekend I managed to play clarinet in a gig that went very well, with the South London Symphonic Winds. I have had Lyme since 2011, and believe I may have had Chagas for even longer but not realised until my homeopath tested me with a large amethyst Crystal, and when i commented that it had made me feel cold, she gave me the remedy China in a high potency. This was many years ago and well before I had any contact with a tick .
R.
03/14/2022 (12:43 pm)
Query:
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome/multiple comorbidities + Lyme Disease/multiple comorbidities // dual misdiagnosis // Covid vaccine heavy side effects // escalated EDS/+.
Not looking good. Add in AMA, poorly trained medical “professionals” and insurance (not care, but business). Late hEDS (+) diagnosis, over age 50. Fun. No help.