Researchers are beginning to look at a group of substances called “forever chemicals” and how those chemicals may impact how some individuals respond to the new COVID-19 vaccines.
One of those scientists, Jamie DeWitt – a toxicologist at East Carolina University – has expressed concerns that exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may suppress the immune system. This could hamper efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic across the U.S.
“The vaccine is going to be effective based on its formulation,” DeWitt said. “What PFAS affect is the body’s ability to make antibodies against the vaccine.”
The researchers addressed the issues during a press briefing by the Environmental Working Group, an environmental nonprofit that researches drinking water pollution and toxic chemicals.
Scientists have discovered that over a million people living along the Haw and Cape Fear Rivers are exposed to PFAS through their drinking water. They believe that the sludge from nearby wastewater treatment plants is adding to the contamination when it is sprayed on crops. In addition, they are looking into the impact of remaining contamination from the Chemours’ Fayetteville Works plant.
Thousands of PFAS have been linked with negative health effects such as thyroid disease, some cancers, and high cholesterol. Consumers can find the chemicals in a broad array of items such as rain coats, carpets, and pizza boxes because they are water- and grease-resistant.
“These chemicals are persistent and accumulative, but they are also mobile, so in fact they are all over the world,” Linda Birnbaum, the former director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, said during Thursday’s briefing.
DeWitt expressed concerns about the PFAS that has been studied regarding impact on the immune system. His contention is that in every circumstance, the chemicals have shown to make the immune system either overly active or suppressed. This can have an effect on how a body responds to a vaccine. PFAS have been shown to stop a process that enables cells to change into the types of cells that produce and release antibodies.
“In some people, the immune system just doesn’t make the amount of antibodies they need to make the response to the vaccine effective,” DeWitt said.
However, no study has been published to date that specifically researches how PFAS could impact a body’s response to the COVID-19 vaccine, although some studies have shown a hampered response to measles, diphtheria, and tetanus vaccines.
“The risk is real,” DeWitt said, “but we can’t put definitive numbers on those risks right now.”
Individuals who have been exposed to PFAS would still receive benefits from vaccines, although the response would not be as robust as it would in persons with lower levels of PFAS in their bodies. This may be addressed by offering an additional vaccine in regions with known levels of PFAS.
“Instead of getting that one booster that’s now required with the two mRNA vaccines … maybe you would need a third (shot),” Birnbaum said, referring to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is being delivered to health care facilities to vaccinate medical staff who work with COVID-19 patients. The Moderna vaccine is being used for long-term care facilities and nursing homes to vaccinate both staff and residents.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry is investigating the link between PFAS and COVID-19, Director Robert Redfield said in a Nov. 6 letter to Rep. Daniel Kildee, a Michigan Democrat.
As part of a study investigating COVID-19 among health care personnel and first responders, Redfield wrote, scientists will investigate whether people with higher levels of PFAS in their blood serum make fewer antibodies in response to the COVID-19 vaccine or have a response that wears off more quickly.
In addition, researchers will also investigate whether individuals with elevated levels of PFAS face increased risks from COVID-19.
One study conducted by scientists in Denmark showed that one PFAS, PFBA, was associated with a more severe course of COVID-19. The study is in the preprint phase, meaning it has not yet been peer reviewed. PFAS have been associated with higher likelihood of diabetes, obesity and asthma, which are underlying conditions that can make contracting COVID-19 more dangerous.
“If you live in an area with known concentrations of PFAS,” DeWitt said, “be even more diligent about washing your hands, wearing your mask and social distancing.”
Vaccines have been the subject of passionate debate ever since the Lancet published a report by Andrew Wakefield claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The Lancet retracted the debunked research, and Andrew Wakefield is prohibited from practicing medicine in the U.K.
Still, the debates rage on. The “anti-vax” movement continues to argue that vaccines are unhealthy, contain harmful chemicals, and contribute to autism. The pro-vaccine side points to vaccines that have saved millions of lives and literally eradicated many devastating diseases.
Food for thought
“At this stage we don’t know if it will impact a corona vaccination, but it’s a risk,” said Philippe Grandjean, an adjunct professor of environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health. “We would have to cross our fingers and hope for the best.”
Philippe Grandjean, an adjunct professor of environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health, has been leading research into the impact of PFAS on vaccinations, specifically the tetanus and diphtheria vaccinations. His research found that children exposed to PFAS had significantly reduced antibody concentrations after receiving these vaccines. In addition, a follow-up study of adult healthcare workers produced similar results.
Another study led by Grandjean shows that perfluorobutyrate (or PFBA), accumulates in the lungs and can heighten the severity of COVID-19. This study is not yet peer-reviewed.
Two companies manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines, BioNTech and Pfizer, suggested that the vaccines could be 90% effective in preventing people from becoming ill from the coronavirus. One scientist behind the vaccine said it will “bash the virus over the head” and help lift the pandemic that has crippled much of the world since the beginning of the year.
The Pfizer vaccine is based on messenger RNA genetic material. It remains unclear if PFAS contamination could disrupt its efficacy on recipients. However, other vaccine contenders are based on protein spikes of the virus, which is more similar to vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus, hence the concern that individuals receiving those vaccines may have a decreased result if they have been exposed to PFAS.
“People with high exposure to PFAS have a non-protective and very low antibody levels after four vaccinations for diphtheria and tetanus,” Grandjean said. “So if a vaccine for Covid is similar, the PFAS will likely inhibit the response from a vaccine. But it is an unknown at this stage.”
The incoming Biden administration has promised to address PFAS pollutants aggressively by classifying them as hazardous substances. Some estimates suggest that over 200 million Americans eat food and drink water laced with PFAS, which linger longer in the body.
Despite this, only a few states currently require drinking water to be largely free from PFAS. The incoming Biden administration may intervene through the Environmental Protection Agency.
Any new regulation of PFAS will likely be fast-tracked since the rollouts of COVID-19 vaccinations are underway.
“I do worry constantly about exposure for both known and unknown PFAS, and the impacts they are having on both our immune systems and on our health in general,” said David Andrews, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group. “PFAS exposure is an urgent public health crisis.”