Bombshell Global Study Links mRNA Vaccines to Serious Increased Kidney Injury Outcomes

This article originally appeared on TrialSite News and was republished with permission.

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A recent study led by Dr. Hyeon Seok Hwang from Kyung Hee University Medical Center in South Korea, published in Scientific Reports, raises significant concerns about vaccine-associated kidney injuries.

The researchers analyzed over 120 million pharmacovigilance reports from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) VigiBase, covering adverse drug reactions reported globally from 1967 to 2022. The findings suggest a substantial increase in reported cases of acute kidney injury (AKI), glomerulonephritis (GN), and tubulointerstitial nephritis (TIN) following vaccinations, with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines showing a disproportionately high number of cases.

Study Design and Methods

The study examined adverse event (AE) reports related to vaccines across 19 categories, including COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, hepatitis B, influenza, and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. Using a combination of Bayesian confidence propagation neural networks and reporting odds ratios (ROR), the researchers identified significant safety signals indicating a higher likelihood of vaccine-related kidney injury compared to the background rate in the WHO database.

Data from over 150 countries were analyzed, with the study specifically assessing whether the number of renal AEs (ER: adverse events) associated with vaccines exceeded expected levels. Disproportionate signals were determined by evaluating the ratio of vaccine-related renal injury reports to those from other pharmaceuticals.

Key Findings: Concerning Trends in Kidney Injury Reports

TrialSite reported on this paper before it was peer-reviewed. The outcomes need exposure to the new Health and Human Services leadership.

Problematically, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines showed a significant disproportionate reporting of AKI, GN, and TIN. The ROR for AKI was 2.38 (95% CI: 2.30–2.46), meaning individuals receiving these vaccines reported AKI at more than twice the rate of other drugs in the WHO database.

The strongest safety signal presented involved glomerulonephritis (GN). The highest ROR for GN was observed in COVID-19 mRNA vaccines (ROR: 13.41, CI: 12.62–14.26), followed by hepatitis B vaccines (ROR: 11.35, CI: 9.69–13.30), suggesting an unusual concentration of post-vaccine GN cases, certainly at a high statistical rate.

But renal AEs surged post-2020. The overall reporting of vaccine-related kidney injuries spiked significantly after the widespread introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, with the Americas and Europe reporting the highest numbers. Also, the Korea-based authors report an overlap of renal injuries with severe systematic conditions.

Temporal changes in the reported counts of vaccine- and drug-associated renal adverse events, and a world map showing reported cases across continents. The reported counts of AKI (A), GN (B), and TIN (C) are presented over timeframe. The number of each renal AE for vaccines (red bars) and all drugs (blue bars) is listed, and the proportions of renal AEs among all drug-related AEs are displayed as percentages adjacent to the red bars. Globally reported counts of AKI (D), GN (E), and TIN (F) are shown across continents. Regions with higher counts are indicated in red, while those with lower counts are marked in blue. AKI, acute kidney injury; GN, glomerulonephritis; TIN, tubulointerstitial nephritis.

Many patients experiencing vaccine-associated AKI also reported concurrent cardiovascular (arrhythmias, coronary events) and neurological (Guillain-Barré syndrome, encephalomyelitis) conditions. Truly troubling from a COVID-19 vaccine injury support perspective. As TrialSite has chronicled, persons injured by these countermeasures have essentially received no support from the government.

Even more disturbing are the younger cohorts, which face a higher risk for specific renal injuries. Important given overall this cohort faces less risk associated with COVID-19 itself, especially with Omicron variants.

Adolescents aged 12–17 were more likely to report TIN, particularly with COVID-19 mRNA and HPV vaccines. And it’s this group, especially males, that face higher risk for vaccine-induced myocarditis.

TrialSite Red Flags– Unanswered Questions and Implications for Public Health

The findings suggest a need for greater scrutiny of vaccine-induced immune responses, particularly in individuals with preexisting kidney conditions or autoimmune susceptibility. While the authors point out that the absolute risk remains low relative to the number of vaccine doses administered, the study’s results underscore the importance of long-term safety monitoring.

From a clinical perspective, these findings raise we would think urgent questions:

• Should high-risk individuals undergo pre-vaccination kidney function screenings?
• Does repeated vaccination increase the likelihood of class-switching immune responses that could exacerbate kidney injuries?
• Are there specific genetic or immunological factors predisposing certain individuals to vaccine-related renal AEs?
• These findings should impact the risk-benefit formula for vaccination from a public health perspective.

Study Limitations

While the study identifies troubling patterns, it does not establish causation—only a statistical association. The reliance on spontaneous reporting systems like VigiBase means underreporting and reporting bias could skew results. Additionally, the study lacks access to patient medical histories, laboratory data, or biopsy-confirmed diagnoses, making it difficult to determine whether cases were definitively vaccine-induced rather than coincidental.

Funding

The study was funded by the Yonsei Fellowship and South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT. Researchers declared no conflicts of interest, though independent validation of these findings would be necessary to corroborate the reported safety signals.

A Call for Transparency and Further Research

This study signals a critical need for continued pharmacovigilance and post-market vaccine surveillance, especially given the rise in mRNA vaccine-associated renal AEs. With a new Health and Human Services Secretary in America, policymakers and healthcare providers in that country must weigh these findings against the declared benefits of vaccination while ensuring that risk factors are adequately understood and mitigated.

Future studies should include clinical correlation with biomarkers, genetic predisposition analyses, and controlled cohort studies to determine the precise mechanisms underlying vaccine-associated kidney injury. For now, informed discussions between patients and healthcare providers remain essential in navigating individual risk profiles.

Lead Research/Investigator

Hyeon Seok Hwang, Hayeon Lee, Soo-Young Yoon, Jin Sug Kim, Kyunghwan Jeong, Andreas Kronbichler, Hyeon Jin Kim, Min Seo Kim, Masoud Rahmati, Ju-Young Shin, Ahhyung Choi, Jae Il Shin, Jinseok Lee & Dong Keon Yon 

Source: Scientific Reports

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