Daijiworld Media Network - Sydney

Sydney, Apr 28: Covid-19 vaccines do not cause significant metabolic changes, according to a new study from Murdoch University in Australia, helping to ease fears over potential long-term side effects.

The research team, led by Associate Professor Ruey Leng Loo, tracked 33 participants over 480 days, monitoring 167 metabolic markers across 28 different time points, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Our real-world study confirms that Covid-19 vaccines are safe and do not trigger major metabolic changes," said Loo. "These findings help dispel misinformation and strengthen public confidence in vaccination."

Published in the Journal of Molecular Medicine, the study compared the metabolic profiles of vaccinated individuals with two other groups: uninfected controls and those who had mild Covid-19 infections. Results showed that vaccinated individuals' metabolic health closely mirrored that of the uninfected control group, indicating vaccines did not cause meaningful biological shifts.

Key health indicators — including 34 cytokines, 112 lipoproteins, and 21 low-molecular-weight metabolites — remained largely stable after vaccination. A minor, temporary increase was noted in Chemokine IP10, an inflammation-related marker, following the third dose, but levels stayed within the normal range and normalized before the next vaccination.

In contrast, even mild Covid-19 infections caused more significant metabolic disruptions, according to Loo. "While mild SARS-CoV-2 infections can induce notable biological changes, the minor fluctuations seen after vaccination were insignificant by comparison," she noted.

The research offers strong reassurance for those hesitant about vaccination, emphasizing that multiple vaccine doses do not trigger the same biological disturbances caused by the virus itself.

While the findings are encouraging, the researchers called for further studies involving larger and more diverse populations to confirm and expand on the results.