NEW STUDY: Long-Vaccine Patients Have 7X Higher Spike Burden Than Long-COVID Patients

By Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

A new Preprint study titled, SARS-CoV-2 Semi-Quantitative Total Antibody Correlates with Symptoms of Long COVID in Both Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Subjects, adds weight to the growing body of evidence suggesting that persistent spike protein underlies post-vaccination syndromes:

Key Findings

Study Population:

• N = 100 total patients with chronic post-COVID-like symptoms
• 81 vaccinated individuals with post-vaccination syndrome (no comorbidities)
• 19 unvaccinated individuals with confirmed prior infection and Long COVID symptoms
• All participants were at least 3 months past infection or vaccination

Spike Antibody Levels:

• Vaccinated group: 11,356 U/mL average spike antibody level (range: 1,291 to >25,000)
• Unvaccinated group: 1,632 U/mL average (range: 1.5 to 4,614)
→ Vaccinated individuals had 7x higher spike antibody levels, despite no recent infection

Common Symptoms Across Both Groups:

• Fatigue (81%)
• Brain fog (76%)
• Headaches (75%)
• Muscle/joint aches (71%)
• Anxiety (54%)
• Sleep irregularity, tinnitus, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and GI issues also prevalent

Hypothesized Mechanism:

• Persistent circulating spike → immune complex formation → deposition in tissues
• Chronic antibody production → immune fatigue and dysregulation (e.g. low pneumococcal titers)
• Authors raise concern that mRNA vaccine-induced spike may lead to prolonged inflammation, neurocognitive symptoms, and possibly oncogenic changes

This is one of the first real-world studies to directly compare immune signatures in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals with Long COVID-like syndromes. Despite differing exposures, both groups shared similar symptom burdens — but vaccinated patients had far higher levels of spike antibodies, months to years post-injection.

As we await widespread access to direct spike protein testing, elevated spike antibody levels serve as a reliable proxy for ongoing spike protein burden in the body. With vaccinated individuals showing 7 times higher spike antibodies, this suggests a substantially greater spike exposure — and therefore, a higher risk of multisystem damage.

Over 375 peer-reviewed studies show that spike protein alone is highly pathogenic to all organ systems:

Thus, strategies aimed at reducing spike protein burden — such as the McCullough Protocol: Base Spike Detoxification — are essential in the interim. While we await large, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials that directly quantify spike protein levels and adjudicate clinical outcomes, this evidence-informed approach remains among the most prudent courses of action currently available.

Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation

www.mcculloughfnd.org

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