Diamonds are celebrated for their enduring brilliance, a symbol of permanence forged under immense pressure over eons. Yet, a recent discovery from Yale University suggests that the Covid spike protein, produced by mRNA vaccines, might rival this longevity in a far less glamorous way. Researchers have detected the spike protein in the blood of some vaccinated individuals up to two years after their mRNA shots, raising serious questions about the safety of these vaccines and their long-term effects on the more than one billion people who received them. While diamonds remain a timeless treasure, the persistent presence of the spike protein could signal an unintended legacy of the Covid vaccine era, one with profound implications for human health and scientific trust.
The Yale study, led by renowned immunologist Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, is part of the LISTEN project, launched in 2022 to investigate post-Covid and vaccine-related injuries. In October 2024, Iwasaki's team reported a startling finding during a study town hall: some participants, who had never been infected with Covid (as confirmed by the absence of nucleocapsid antibodies), had detectable levels of Covid spike protein in their blood more than 700 days after their last mRNA shot. Others showed the protein persisting beyond 450 days. These findings, shared again in a recent conference call and corroborated by two independent sources, suggest that some individuals' bodies may be continuously producing the spike protein long after vaccination.
Normally, the immune system rapidly clears newly produced spike proteins, and mRNA from vaccines is designed to degrade quickly, supposedly. The persistence of the protein in these participants, who received Pfizer or Moderna shots, points to an alarming possibility: the genetic material delivered by the mRNA vaccines may have integrated into human DNA, causing cells to produce the spike protein indefinitely. This process, known as transfection, would require the vaccine's genetic sequences to be incorporated into the genome, a scenario that researchers have yet to confirm definitively. The Yale team plans to publish their findings on a preprint server soon and send samples to an independent lab for validation, indicating the urgency and gravity of their discovery.
The mRNA vaccines work by delivering genetic instructions to cells, prompting them to produce the Covid spike protein to trigger an immune response. Unlike natural Covid infection, which generates antibodies to multiple viral components (including the nucleocapsid), mRNA shots target only the spike protein. The absence of nucleocapsid antibodies in the Yale study participants confirms they were never infected, making the persistent spike protein a product of the vaccine itself. This raises questions about why the protein lingers when it should be cleared within days.
One hypothesis centres on DNA plasmid contamination. To produce mRNA, vaccine manufacturers use DNA plasmids, circular DNA molecules in bacteria. The rushed production process in 2020, unprecedented in scale and speed, led to trace amounts of plasmid DNA contaminating the mRNA strands. If these plasmids integrate into human DNA, they could continuously activate cellular machinery to produce the spike protein. While mRNA itself is unlikely to integrate (as it requires reverse transcriptase to become DNA), plasmid DNA could bypass this hurdle, posing a risk of long-term genetic alteration. Confirming transfection would require extracting DNA from participants' cells and identifying vaccine-specific sequences, a critical next step the Yale team has not yet completed.
The potential for genetic integration has profound implications for the safety of mRNA vaccines, which were administered to over one billion people worldwide. If confirmed, persistent spike protein production could contribute to immune dysregulation, inflammation, or other health issues, though the clinical significance of the current findings remains unclear. The study's participants, enrolled due to self-reported vaccine injuries, may not represent the broader vaccinated population, but the presence of spike protein in their blood for up to two years is a red flag that demands further investigation.
The findings are particularly striking given Dr. Iwasaki's background. A former president of the American Association of Immunologists, Iwasaki was a vocal advocate for mRNA vaccines, dismissing safety concerns as "absurd" in 2021 and supporting vaccine mandates. Her team's discovery, which aligns with warnings from vaccine sceptics about DNA contamination risks, marks a significant shift. The fact that a major peer-reviewed journal declined to publish the findings suggests resistance within the scientific establishment, adding fuel to public distrust. By opting for a preprint server, the Yale team is valuing transparency, allowing researchers and the public to scrutinise the data directly.
Diamonds endure because of their unyielding structure, formed under conditions that resist change. The Covid spike protein's persistence, if linked to genetic integration, could reflect a similarly intractable legacy of the mRNA vaccine rollout. The rapid development and mass deployment of these vaccines in 2020 were hailed as a scientific triumph, but the Yale study underscores the risks of scaling untested technology under pressure. The presence of plasmid DNA in vaccines, a by-product of hurried manufacturing, was a known issue that regulators and manufacturers downplayed. Now, the possibility that this oversight could alter human DNA highlights the need for rigorous post-market surveillance and independent validation of vaccine safety.
The study's implications extend beyond health to trust in institutions. Public confidence in vaccines has already been strained by mandates, mixed messaging, and emerging side-effect data. If the spike protein's persistence is confirmed to have clinical consequences, it could deepen scepticism, particularly among the vaccine-injured who feel dismissed by mainstream science, a good thing I think. The Yale team's commitment to publishing their findings openly is a step toward accountability, but the road ahead requires exhaustive research to determine how widespread this issue is and what it means for long-term health.
Diamonds are forever because they withstand time's pressures, but the Covid spike protein's unexpected staying power suggests a less desirable kind of permanence. The Yale study is not definitive proof of genetic integration, but it raises a critical warning about mRNA vaccine safety that cannot be ignored. As the researchers prepare to share their data, the scientific community must embrace independent validation and comprehensive follow-up studies to assess the scope and impact of persistent spike protein production.
For the public, this discovery underscores the importance of informed consent and transparency in medical interventions. Over one billion people received mRNA Covid vaccines, often under mandates that left little room for choice. If the spike protein proves to be a lasting fixture in some bodies, it could redefine the risk-benefit calculus of these shots. Until more is known, caution and scrutiny must guide our approach to mRNA technology; guilty until proven innocent.
https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/urgent-yale-researchers-have-found
"Yale University scientists have found Covid spike protein in the blood of people who received Covid mRNA shots - up to two years after they received the jabs.
The people were never infected with Covid, antibody tests show, and our immune systems rapidly destroy newly produced spike proteins. The finding suggests some people who took the shots may be making the proteins on their own.
A possible reason is that genetic material delivered in the shots has integrated with human genes and is continuing to activate protein-making structures in our cells. If found to be correct, this explanation has serious implications for mRNA vaccine safety and the more than 1 billion people who received mRNA Covid doses.
To be clear, the finding does not provide definitive proof of genetic integration, or what researchers call "transfection." For that, researchers must extract DNA from human cells and find the genetic sequences the vaccine delivers. How frequently the spike protein is appearing and whether the levels might have clinically significant consequences are also unclear.
The researchers have reported finding spike protein on conference calls with participants in their study in October and again this week. Two people independently told Unreported Truths of the study's findings.
They researchers discussed publishing the findings with at least one major peer-reviewed journal, a person with direct knowledge of those discussions said. The journal declined.
The scientists now plan to publish the findings very soon on an unreviewed "pre-print" server so that other researchers and members of the public can see them and discuss their implications. They also intend to send samples to an independent lab for validation, though they do not believe they're mistaken.
Some vaccine-skeptical researchers have previously suggested the potential for the genetic material in the shots to integrate with human genes. But the new findings are crucial, not just because they make the possibility more likely but because the head of the Yale team is a renowned scientist who had strongly advocated for the Covid jabs.
The researcher, Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, is a former president of the American Association of Immunologists. In May 2021, she told the Washington Post that concerns about mRNA shots were "absurd" and added that "no safety concerns" had been found in their clinical trials. She later signed a letter advocating Covid vaccine mandates.
The people who told Unreported Truths of the findings included one person who participates in the study and directly heard the reports from the Yale researchers on the conference call. The other person is a scientist who is in contact with multiple members of the team.
Contacted by Unreported Truths, Iwasaki did not dispute her team had found continuing evidence of spike proteins in participants who had been vaccinated but never infected. "We are working hard to finalize our study and post it on a preprint server," she wrote.
Dr. Iwasaki's group began the study, which is called LISTEN, in 2022, to examine people with self-reported post-Covid injuries. They then expanded it to include people with self-reported vaccine injuries. About 3,000 people have enrolled, according to an article about the project in January.
Participants give blood and saliva samples and report their symptoms. The study has had regular "town halls" where the investigators report their findings, with all participants invited.
At the October town hall, Iwasaki reported that the team had found Covid spike protein in a study participant more than 700 days after the person's last mRNA shot, and in others more than 450 days after.
Crucially, these people showed no evidence of natural infection by the coronavirus. Scientists can distinguish between people who have been vaccinated and those who have been naturally infected.
The reason is that people who have been given mRNA shots produce immune antibodies to only one part of the coronavirus, the spike protein. But nearly all of those who have been infected and recovered also have antibodies to another part, called the nucleocapsid. Some participants in LISTEN have no anti-nucleocapsid antibodies but do continue to produce spike protein.
Almost since the mRNA Covid jabs were authorized for use in December 2020, a small but vocal group of vaccine skeptics has warned of the possibility that they might contaminate human DNA.
The vaccine mRNA itself is unlikely to somehow integrate into human genes, as that process would require the mRNA to use an enzyme called "reverse transcriptase" to turn itself into DNA before being integrated into human genes.
Instead, the more likely avenue comes because Pfizer and Moderna use what scientists call "DNA plasmids" - a circular DNA molecule - to make bacteria produce the mRNA that is the active ingredient in the vaccine.
The manufacturing process inevitably leads to a small amount of DNA plasmid contamination in the mRNA strands the bacteria make. No one had ever made mRNA at the speed and scale used in the Covid vaccines, requiring the manufacturers essentially to invent processes in a matter of months in 2020."