Monday, September 23, 2024 - A 23-year-old woman from Florida, USA has been left temporarily blinded and bruised after allegedly receiving multiple vaccines before a blood transfusion for a rare autoimmune disorder.
The young lady, Alexis Lorenzo was diagnosed with Paroxysmal
Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) in January 2024.
The extremely rare condition affects approximately one in a
million people, causing the immune system to attack and destroy red blood
cells.
Earlier in September, Lorenze reportedly travelled to
California for a transfusion to replenish her damaged blood cells bug after
arriving at UCI Medical, she claims doctors informed her that she could not
receive the transfusion unless she first received vaccines for tetanus,
pneumonia and meningitis, all administered simultaneously.
She said that within 10 minutes after the vaccinations, she
began to experience symptoms she didn't understand: her vision darkened in both
eyes, her jaw locked, she began vomiting, and her body swelled and bruised.
Medical experts have voiced concerns about the potential
dangers of administering multiple vaccines at once, especially in patients with
autoimmune conditions like PNH as these patients can have heightened immune
responses, leading to severe complications like cytokine storms, that can cause
the body to attack its own healthy tissues and organs. It can be
life-threatening and lead to irreversible damage.
“While it’s usually safe for
most people to get these vaccines together, in her case, the immune response
could have been too much and led to complications,” Dr. Raj Dasgupta, chief
medical advisor for Fortune Recommends Health, told the Daily Mail.
“To avoid overloading her system, it would be reasonable to space out the vaccines and closely monitor for any worsening symptoms.”
Doctors have suggested that the vaccines themselves were
unlikely the direct cause of Lorenze’s severe reactions, they suggested that
her PNH condition may have been unstable, and the vaccinations could have
triggered a flare-up or allergic reaction.
“There’s also the possibility
that what she’s experiencing isn’t just from the vaccines,” Dr. Dasgupta said.
“PNH can flare up on its own,
and we have to consider whether the condition itself is behind her severe
reaction. Both factors (her PNH and the vaccines) need to be carefully weighed
when looking at what’s happening.”
Lorenze’s case has sparked significant debate, particularly
regarding the hospital’s rationale for allegedly requiring the vaccines so
urgently.
In a series of viral TikTok videos, Lorenze claimed that she
hadn’t received any vaccines since childhood.
Her family has claimed that the hospital insisted the vaccinations were mandatory for the transfusion, but some experts argue that this is not a standard requirement.
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