Bret Weinstein on health: what the evidence says · JRE #2198
SUBJECT: HEALTH
The short answer
Weinstein claims that receiving two or more mRNA COVID vaccine doses triggers production of IgG4 antibodies that broadly suppress the immune system. A 2023 study in Science Immunology (Irrgang et al.) found that after two mRNA COVID-19 vaccine doses, spike-specific IgG antibodies were dominated by the inflammatory subclasses IgG1 and IgG3, but several months later, and especially after a third dose, an increasing share class-switched to IgG4, rising on average from about 0.04% shortly after dose two to 19.27% late after dose three; this shift was not seen after adenoviral-vector vaccination.
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
The mRNA shots, for anybody who got two or more, triggered the production of something called IgG4, which I don't know if we've talked about it before, but IgG4 is the immune system's own message to itself to turn itself down.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
A 2023 study in Science Immunology (Irrgang et al.) found that after two mRNA COVID-19 vaccine doses, spike-specific IgG antibodies were dominated by the inflammatory subclasses IgG1 and IgG3, but several months later, and especially after a third dose, an increasing share class-switched to IgG4, rising on average from about 0.04% shortly after dose two to 19.27% late after dose three; this shift was not seen after adenoviral-vector vaccination. IgG4 is a naturally occurring, noninflammatory antibody subclass that binds Fc receptors and complement poorly, so the switch was associated with reduced antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis and complement deposition, while neutralizing capacity and avidity against variants actually increased after the third dose. An accompanying Science Immunology commentary (Pillai, 2023) cautioned that IgG4 constitutes a relatively small proportion of total anti-spike IgG, that its real-world clinical consequences for vaccinated individuals remain unclear, and that it is 'unlikely to compromise immunity in vaccinated patients at this time,' while calling for further study of dosing intervals. The characterization of IgG4 as the 'immune system's own message to itself to turn itself down,' implying a broad, dangerous immune shutdown, goes beyond what the primary research and expert commentary describe, which is a partial, antigen-specific shift in antibody function rather than global immune suppression.