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Graves’ Disease and the COVID-19 Vaccines: Medical Insurance and More

As more time passes from the introduction of vaccines and booster shots, some experts expect side effects from the process. Although no one is discussing the illnesses brought on by the vaccines, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be aware of the research and monitor your health for side effects. What are the odds that you will experience short-term or long-term side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine process?

Before a friend mentioned Graves’ disease as a possible vaccine injury, I had never thought about Graves’, but research indicates that autoimmune diseases are developing from vaccines. Unaware of the specifics of Graves’ disease, I realized most other Americans may not recognize that they may be suffering from Graves’ disease because of the vaccine process.

What is Graves’ disease?

According to the Mayo Clinic website, Graves’s disease is a standard immune system disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism).

Common symptoms of Grave’s disease may include the following:

  • Fatigue
  • Anxiety and irritability
  • Bulging eyes (Graves’ ophthalmopathy)
  • A fine tremor of the hands or fingers
  • Heat sensitivity and an increase in perspiration or warm, moist skin
  • Weight loss with no change in eating habits
  • Enlargement of the thyroid gland (goiter)
  • Changes in menstrual cycle
  • Erectile dysfunction or reduced libido
  • Frequent bowel movements
  • Thick, red skin, usually on the shins or tops of the feet (Graves’ dermopathy)
  • Rapid or irregular heartbeat (palpitations)
  • Sleep Disturbance

Research

Research studies to review the connection between autoimmune diseases and COVID-19 vaccines are just beginning. Therefore, I chose the following papers to give an overview for readers to understand the implications.

#1. Three days after receiving a vaccine shot. Two Cases of Graves’ Disease Following SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination: An Autoimmune/Inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants. Conclusion: Graves’ disease can occur after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

#2. Four to seven days after receiving a vaccine (CoronaVac®). Three Cases of Subacute Thyroiditis Following SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine: Post-vaccination ASIA Syndrome. Conclusion: Clinicians should be aware that subacute thyroiditis may manifest ASIA syndrome following the inactive SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

#3. Literature review. Thyrotoxicosis after COVID-19 vaccination: seven case reports and a literature review. Conclusion: Based on case reports, including present cases and literature reviews, COVID-19 vaccines can cause not only destructive thyroiditis but also AIT.

#4. Four days after a second shot of (CoronaVac, Covaxin, BBIBP-CorV), Graves’ disease following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

#5. Eight cases of autoimmune disease within three months of COVID-19 vaccination. Autoimmune phenomena following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination (Pfizer BNT162b2 mRNA).

#6. TTP is a severe autoimmune disease. Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine increases the risk of a rare blood disease: Israeli study.

“Physicians and patients need to be alert to the clinical symptoms: weakness, fatigue, neurological disorders, hemorrhages, and chest pain,” according to the Institute of Hematology at Shamir Medical Center’s press release in June 2021.

#7. Review of failure of SARS and MERS vaccines in animal trials. Pathogenic priming likely contributes to serious and critical illness and mortality in COVID-19 via autoimmunity.

It’s interesting that I could find no research projects that American experts have completed or are working on dealing with thyroid eye disease as a side-effect of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, in March 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved authorization for Horizon to manufacture more TEPEZZA. Which Horizon claims is the only drug that helps with Thyroid Eye Disease a condition of Graves’ disease. If interested, the company is also conducting ongoing trials.

“We commend the efforts of the FDA and the Biden Administration to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine production while working together with our team so that people living with Thyroid Eye Disease can resume or start treatment with TEPEZZA,” says Tim Walbert, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, Horizon.

Insurance Industry

“Side effects nearly always occur within a couple of weeks of a person being vaccinated,”

John Grabenstein, director of scientific communication for the Immunization Action Coalition.

There are a variety of topics to discuss with vaccine side effects. For this article, I chose workplace benefits that may be needed to review with COVID-19 vaccines and Graves’ disease in the future. Two critical factors that exist today are that vaccine injuries occur within 60 days and that insurance companies are familiar with and cover Graves’ disease. The known factors that are not discussed are that the mRNA vaccines effectiveness are being disputed, and the mRNA vaccines have never been used on humans. The latter two facts may impact the insurance industry with life insurance and pre-existing conditions, which I suspect will begin in the 2022 open-enrollment season.

Medical Insurance 

Pre-existing conditions classification is the biggest concern I have now. If more international research indicates that the vaccines cause autoimmune diseases such as Graves’ Disease, the global medical insurance industry will not ignore the information. How will vaccines that were taken voluntarily be considered for medical insurance policies?

Life Insurance

Serious complications can arise with Graves’ Disease, which is why questions could be asked of the employee and a life insurance underwriter may analyze the risk an employee would pose to them as “insured.” How will vaccines that were taken voluntarily be considered for life insurance policies?

Is Graves’ Disease Considered a Disability?

If Graves’ disease keeps an employee from performing work duties, it may qualify for long-term disability (LTD) and Social Security Disability benefits.

Although the disease does not have a specific listing with SSA, if the symptoms and limitations prevent you from performing Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) for 12 months or longer, it will be considered. Because of the uncertainty with Graves’ disease and vaccines, it’s best to work with a lawyer before filing for long-term disability with your organization’s insurance company and SSA.

United States

According to a title in the Insurance Journal, October 12, 2021, “Insurers Remain Unfazed by Risks of Clinical Trials for COVID-19 Vaccine.”

Internationally – India.

“Currently, all Covid-related hospitalisation is covered by traditional health insurance policies. Additionally, there are special health insurance covers only for Covid. But contrary to popular perception, existing health insurance policies are unlikely to cover the cost of vaccination and adverse reactions, if any. Only policies designed purely for the Covid-19 vaccination process — there is none at the moment — will cover the costs.”

World Health Organization (WHO)

WHO decided in February 2021 to set up an international compensation fund for people in emerging nations who might suffer any side effects from COVID-19 vaccines.

The future

“We have now created more new emergences of the virus than we have stopped,

Virologist Mark Pallansch , US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October 21, 2020.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s polio vaccine

I’ve lived long enough to be told that smoking cigarettes were not dangerous, talcum powder was harmless, and read about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s polio vaccine experiments. Disasters that could have been prevented have destroyed an unknown number of lives.

So, let’s not pretend that nothing can go wrong with experimental vaccines that the FDA approved without short-term or long-term safety testing. In reality, long COVID illnesses and COVID-19 vaccine side effects will not be known for many years.

Therefore, it’s critical for medical care, insurance, employment, and disability issues that you take responsibility for your health for both the short and long term. Monitor your health for Graves’ disease.

Suggestions

Keep a journal of illnesses, any unusual feelings or body changes, and anything that doesn’t seem normal from your past.

  1. Journal from the day of the first vaccine and all boosters.
  2. Get a physical immediately and continue yearly with a full panel of blood work.
  3. Contact your insurance company and ask about COVID-19 vaccine injury coverage.
  4. You should report all side effects in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

Does the list above seem extreme? No.

Does my article indicate anything will change in the insurance industry, or that vaccine injuries will occur after 60 days, one year, or five years? Time will tell.

Awareness. I always research, read, think, and pray for guidance because carefully crafted language is interesting.

Reviewing exactly what individuals state over time gives me an indication of trustworthiness. My research has never found statements from two of the most outspoken supporters, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Board Member of Pfizer, and Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician, professor of health policy and management at George Washington University, that the vaccines are safe and will not create short-term or long-term side-effects. Of course, I may have missed the comments; please share in the chat below if one of my readers finds such statements.

U.S. Government

“If you look at the history of vaccines, you know that virtually all long-term adverse effects of a vaccine occur between 15 and 30 days after you get the dose – 45 days at the most. When you get a vaccine allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), such as with the emergency use authorization, you have to wait 60 days from the time half the people in the trials got their last dose and observe safety before it can be used on the public. If almost all of the long-term adverse effects occur within 45 days, you’ve gone beyond that if you wait 60 days, so the chances of there being long-term effects are vanishingly small. Dr. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), January 28, 2021

We’re never gonna learn about how safe the vaccine is until we start giving it,”… “That’s just the way it goes.” Dr. Eric Rubin, FDA Panel Member, editor-in-chief of The New England Journal of Medicine Oct. 26, 2021

“There were no severe events associated with the safety of this vaccine and in fact, we see the side effects of this vaccine that are very similar to what we’ve seen in adults, and the most common of which is a sore arm which goes away in about a day or two,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Nov. 3, 2021

“The specific and significant COVID‐19 risk of ADE should have been and should be prominently and independently disclosed to research subjects currently in vaccine trials, as well as those being recruited for the trials and future patients after vaccine approval, in order to meet the medical ethics standard of patient comprehension for informed consent.”  Timothy Cardozo and Ronald Veazey, Int J Clin Pract, 2021

Cover my legacy statement.

“The concerns that something will spring up later with the COVID-19 vaccines are not impossible, but based on what we know, they aren’t likely,” Miles Braun, adjunct professor of medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and the former director of the division of epidemiology at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, May 18, 2021

International Experts.

“Autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis, are chronic (long-term) illnesses, and there is no evidence to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines can cause autoimmune diseases.” Austrian Government Health Department, October 2021

Dr. Jacqueline B. Lang
Dr. Jacqueline B. Lang
Dr. Jacqueline Lang MBA, MPA, MSED is a beacon of inspiration, embodying the rare blend of academics, professional excellence, and personal warmth. A devoted mother, trusted friend, and mentor, she navigates with grace and poise. Her experiences include being an International Syndicated Columnist, Researcher of Women's Issues, and Author. Along with 25+ years of leadership experience in various industries within Fortune 50, 500, 1000, and private organizations across the U.S., Her other experiences include being a Business Professor, U.S. Congressional Campaign Manager, and U.S. Army Reservist. She is also the President/Founder, EVOLVEzone.org, a non-profit to empower women.

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2 CONVERSATIONS

  1. Thank you so.much for this honest and well researched article. I have ADEM but have had no exacerbations since 2001. I am refusing the vaccine because I don’t want to take a chance on triggering symptoms. I had the pneumonia vaccine a year ago and got so sick I lost 2 days. I remember nothing except sleeping and hurting so bad all over, even my hair hurt.

    I got covid in May. I tested positive on a Friday and by Monday I was 100% fine. I had fever 4 nights. I have COPD so people worry about me getting sick. I’m more worried about me taking the vaccine because of mandates. So far I’m OK because I work for a small company of 8 employees.

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