Swiss Study Finds More COVID Boosters Are Associated With More Frequent Flu like Illness Episodes and Sick Days From Work
A multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted among Swiss healthcare workers (n = 1,745) between November 2023 and April 2024 using weekly self reported data collection on respiratory symptoms and sick leave and a negative multivariable binomial regression model adjusted using inverse probability weighting. They found that receiving more modRNA doses recently is associated with a higher risk of influenza-like illness and lost workdays and that the association is stronger for boosters received more recently. Each extra modRNA dose was associated with an 18% increase in the relative risk for influenza-like illness, i.e., (RR = 1.18 per dose) and an 8% increase in relative increase for lost workdays (RR = 1.08 per dose) compared to unvaxxed healthcare workers (n = 175). The risk of influenza-like illness was 29% higher among those who received the primary series (aIRR 1.29, 95% CI 0.98 - 1.71) compared to their unvaxxed colleagues. The risk of influenza-like illness was 56% and 70% higher among those who received 3 or 4 modRNA doses (aIRR 1.56, 95% CI 1.22–2.03 and 1.70, 95% CI 1.27–2.28, respectively) compared to their unvaxxed colleagues. There was also a significant association between cumulative workdays lost due to influenza like illness and vaxx status: (aIRR for 1 or 2 doses 1.13, 95% CI 0.80–1.58; for 3 doses 1.49, 95% CI 1.08–2.01; for 4 doses 1.50, 95% CI 1.04–2.13).
Receiving the annual flu shot was not associated with a higher risk of influenza like illness by contrast, meaning the increased risk of self-reported influenza like illnesses and absenteeism from work was not some healthy vaxx refuser bias but something peculiar to the COVID modRNA transfections themselves. The authors note that several previous observational studies have found evidence of immune suppression following modRNA transfection boosters (leading to higher infection and reinfection rates) which I have covered extensively in previous posts and answers.
Evidence of COVID modRNA transfection Immunosuppression Grows
The most probable mechanism by which repeated modRNA transfections induced immune suppression is that they temporarily impair interferon signaling and cause T cell exhaustion through repeated receptor binding domain immunization, which can lead to systemic autoimmunity. T cells can also become highly specialized through a process known as "terminal differentiation" after repeated high concentration inoculations and lose their ability to divide and proliferate leading to immune exhaustion another route.
See my previous answers
How Many Vaccinations do You need to be Immune to COVID-19