mRNA, Spike Proteins Persist in the Human Body for More Than 3.5 Years After COVID-19 Shots

A newly published case report in Medical Research Archives found that vaccine-derived synthetic mRNA, spike protein and plasmid DNA sequences persisted in the blood and tissue of a 55-year-old man more than three years after his last Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 shot, with some components detected beyond the 3.5-year mark. The case report, published July 1, 2026, followed a man who developed numerous and severe chronic health problems after receiving three Pfizer COVID shots. More than 3.5 years later, several vaccine-derived materials were still present in his blood and/or tissue.¹

“Emerging evidence suggests that prolonged spike protein expression, residual RNA, and plasmid DNA fragments may contribute to multi-system post-vaccination syndromes,” the study states. Free spike protein was detected in the 55-year-old male subject’s blood plasma and in exosomes at 1,173 days, or about 3.2 years, after he got the mRNA COVID shots. Spike protein was also repeatedly detected in skin biopsies, including one taken 1,364 days, or about 3.7 years, after vaccination. At that point, spike protein was also detected in nerve fibers.²

“Free spike protein” refers to spike protein molecule that is circulating in the bloodstream without being bound by antibodies. These proteins may be produced following SARS-CoV-2 viral infection or mRNA COVID injections. In this case, however, the researchers repeatedly tested the patient for nucleocapsid antibodies, which generally indicate prior infection rather than antibodies induced by the COVID shots. Using three different laboratories, he tested negative at five different time points between 809 and 1,433 days after getting the shots.

The authors therefore concluded that the spike material detected was derived from the mRNA COVID shots rather than the result of a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. “This case documents the longest reported in vivo persistence of vaccine-derived mRNA, plasmid DNA fragments, and spike protein following mRNA vaccination,” the study authors stated.³

Multiple Organ Systems Damaged in Man Who Got Pfizer mRNA COVID Shots

Ultimately, the 55-year-old man developed extensive, progressive health problems affecting multiple organ systems following his third Pfizer COVID shot, including pulmonary emboli, myocarditis, neurological and cognitive problems, autonomic dysfunction, gastrointestinal problems, hearing and vision disturbances, and chronic inflammation. His condition was so severe and persistent that it resulted in over 40 emergency room visits and 200 outpatient specialty appointments, along with more than 100 specialized laboratory tests and 100 imaging and functional studies, with testing remaining largely inconclusive.⁴

According to the case report: Diagnostic Evaluation: After >40 emergency department visits and >200 outpatient specialty encounters, the patient underwent >100 non-routine laboratory investigations and >100 imaging/functional studies. This evaluation systematically excluded underlying etiologic mechanisms across infectious, autoimmune, rheumatologic, endocrine, genetic, hematologic, malignant, toxic/medication-related, cardiovascular/vascular, metabolic, and primary neurologic domains.⁵

“Large-scale investigations must be launched immediately to determine how many of the billions of COVID-19 mRNA injection recipients continue to harbor residual vaccine-derived mRNA, plasmid DNA, and spike protein years after injection,” study co-author Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, wrote in a July 9, 2026, Substack post. Hulscher said the case report is the “longest documented persistence of COVID-19 vaccine-derived material to date following YEARS of investigation spanning 200+ specialist evaluations and 200+ advanced lab/imaging tests.”⁶

Growing Body of Research Detecting Spike Proteins and Other Foreign RNA, DNA Material After mRNA COVID shots

Researchers in a 2023 study published in Circulation aimed to identify why some adolescents and young adults developed myocarditis (heart inflammation) after receiving an mRNA COVID-19 shot, a serious heart condition that prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2025 to require vaccine makers to include updated myocarditis and pericarditis warnings in the prescribing information for their mRNA COVID shots.^{7 8}

The 2023 study compared 16 people who developed myocarditis after getting an mRNA COVID shot with 45 people who did not develop the inflammatory heart condition. Free, full-length spike protein was detected in the blood of the 16 participants who developed myocarditis after an mRNA COVID shot, while none was detected in the control group of 45 individuals who got the mRNA COVID shot but did not develop myocarditis.

While researchers found that the myocarditis group did have markedly elevated free, full-length spike protein circulating in their blood, they did not determine why spike proteins were present in those participants but absent in vaccinated controls.⁹

Former CDC Director Said mRNA, Spike Proteins “Don’t Last Long in Body

These findings add to a growing body of medical literature documenting that spike protein and modified mRNA can remain in the body beyond the timeframes initially communicated by CDC officials. Public health messaging from federal health agencies after the mRNA COVID shots were first approved by the FDA in December 2020 and widely distributed under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) suggested that the vaccine-derived synthetic mRNA and spike proteins would degrade within days or weeks and no longer be in the bodies of vaccinated individuals. Subsequent research has demonstrated that they can persist for substantially longer periods of time extending to many months and even years.

Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a post on X in 2021, “Covid vaccines show your body’s natural defenses how to recognize and kill the virus, then they disappear. They don’t stay with you, they don’t change your DNA, and serious adverse effects from vaccination are extraordinarily rare.”¹⁰

Authors of an earlier  2024 peer-reviewed article published in Pharmacology Research Perspectives pointed out differences between original assumptions and public health messaging characterizing the mRNA COVID biologics and lab test findings that were subsequently published. “It was hoped that resident and circulating immune cells attracted to the injection site make copies of the spike protein while the injected mRNA degrades within a few days. It was also originally estimated that recombinant spike proteins generated by mRNA vaccines would persist in the body for a few weeks.¹¹

The authors continued, “In reality, clinical studies now report that modified SARS‐CoV‐2 mRNA routinely persist up to a month from injection and can be detected in cardiac and skeletal muscle at sites of inflammation and fibrosis, while the recombinant spike protein may persist a little over half a year in blood.”¹²

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