The coronavirus vaccine can help fight cancer, chronic pain … and even Alzheimer’s

Joan Wakefield has barely been able to walk for almost six months. The 72-year-old from Stockport had a knee replacement in October and has since suffered scar tissue infections, causing terrible pain.

Then, earlier this month, she received the first dose of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine. “I woke up the next morning and the pain and stiffness in my legs disappeared,” she says.

‘I couldn’t believe it. I joked with my partner about whether the vaccine had anything to do with it. Previously, I couldn’t even bend my leg. Now I can fully extend it and even put on my shoes and socks. I am optimistic that I will be able to get back to work sooner or later now.

It sounds ridiculous – a vaccine designed to protect against a virus can, in some way, improve other totally unrelated health elements.

But Joan Wakefield is far from alone.

Last month, Mail on Sunday GP Ellie Cannon wrote about the curious case of a man with Lyme disease who discovered that his long-term fatigue had evaporated a few days after receiving the Covid vaccine. Dozens of you wrote to tell similar miraculous tales.

One of them saw stubborn patches of eczema on his arms, legs and navel disappear mysteriously hours after receiving the injection. Another said that the dizzying dizziness she had struggled with for 25 years disappeared four days after her injection.

Meanwhile, a woman wrote that her husband had slept through the night for the first time since being diagnosed with a sleep disorder 15 years ago. Even more bizarre, some claimed to be in better health after contracting the virus.

A 95-year-old resident of a nursing home was described by her daughter and suddenly ‘alert and alive’ after having Covid last month.

‘Previously, the mother was very fragile, losing weight and her voice losing power. We were prepared for the end not to be far, ‘wrote Roz Ellis, of Ilford, Essex.

‘Four weeks after recovering from Covid, his voice is stronger. She stays at the window for ten minutes and has gained 3 pounds.

Most readers have guessed that the injection – or the infection itself – caused the immune system to kick in and attack other uncomfortable health problems. And they can be right. Scientists have documented unexpected benefits of vaccines for decades – known in the medical field as “non-specific effects”.

Studies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s by Danish scientist Peter Aaby found that mass measles vaccination in West African communities reduced the risk of child death by a third – but only four percent of that decline was explained by more people surviving to measles.

Also in the 1970s, Russian scientists found that vaccinating the population against polio reduced deaths from influenza and other infections by up to 80%.

More recently, Dutch and Greek researchers reported surprising results from tests that examined whether giving the elderly a vaccine against bacterial tuberculosis infection – the BGC vaccine – could protect against other common infections that often lead the fragile and vulnerable to hospital.

Almost twice as many infections were seen in the placebo group, compared to vaccinated participants.

And the BCG vaccine is already used to treat bladder cancer patients with non-invasive tumors – it is administered directly into the bladder to help the immune system fight cancer.

Furthermore, bladder cancer patients who receive this therapy are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s, according to a recent Israeli study. But why?

Scientists are unsure as to the exact mechanism. In fact, some suggest that vaccines can “train” the immune system, strengthening it.

But Professor Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist at the University of Manchester, does not believe this theory and insists that there is a different explanation.

She says: ‘The protection we see against other health problems in people who have had measles and BCG vaccines is a benefit of not having suffered from these diseases in youth.

‘Suffering from measles, tuberculosis or any other infections that we vaccinate against can have harmful long-term effects on our immune system.’

Studies show that they weaken the response to threats and cause systemic inflammation. Over time, this increases the risk of a range of diseases.

“People vaccinated against these infections, in turn, are less likely to suffer other illnesses as a result.”

As for those who are experiencing miraculous recoveries after the Covid-19 injection, Professor Cruickshank says the explanation lies in our emotional response to it. “The pandemic has been extremely stressful and we often underestimate the effect of stress on our immune system,” she says.

She explains that the increase in stress hormones interferes with the ability of immune cells to fight infections. She says: ‘This is why we tend to catch severe colds or bacterial infections when we are stressed and exhausted.

“It is also this response that, in vulnerable people, leads to an outbreak of inflammatory diseases like eczema – because the immune system is going crazy.”

Dr. Cruickshank suspects that the vaccine will be a relief to many, immediately reducing stress levels. The beneficial effect on the immune system can be instantaneous. It is surprising ”, she adds.

She also points out that the type of vaccine used to prevent Covid-19 is markedly different from those used in previous studies.

“Measles and tuberculosis vaccines are all called ‘live’ vaccines.

“They involve injecting a tiny amount of a weakened version of the virus or bacteria that causes the disease.

‘It helps the immune system to recognize it when it sees it in larger doses, so it is quicker to respond.

“But all Covid-19 vaccines work, not by injecting viral particles, but by the genetic instructions that our immune cells need to create a small part of them.

“It is unlikely to have any effect on the immune cells for which they were not specifically designed.”

Joan Wakefield has no doubts about the cure for her creaking knee. She writes: ‘As soon as I read about other people seeing miraculous effects of the vaccine, it all made sense.

‘I fully believe that this is my case.’