The number of Americans reporting a disability has risen sharply since the rollout of mRNA COVID-19 shots in early 2021, reaching a record high of 37.03 million people aged 16 and older in July 2026, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).1 In February 2021, two months after the experimental mRNA COVID shots developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna/NIAID were released for public use by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), about 29.95 million Americans reported having a disability.2
Since then, the number has increased by over seven million, an increase of approximately 24 percent, in five and a half years. The latest BLS data also show that nearly 28 million Americans with disabilities are not participating in the labor force, while the unemployment rate among people with disabilities was 8.9 percent, more than double the 4.1 percent rate among Americans without disabilities.3
Since 2021 Disability Rates Increased Significantly Among Younger Working-Age Americans
The rise in reported disabilities was not limited to older Americans, who in previous years accounted for the largest share of people reporting disabilities. Some of the sharpest percentage increases in disabilities have occurred among younger working-age people. U.S. BLS data show that the number of working-age Americans between 16 and 64 years old who reported a disability increased approximately 17 percent, from 14.9 million in February 2021 to 17.4 million in July 2026, an increase of more than 2.5 million.4
Annual BLS data further show particularly large increases among younger age groups between 2020 and 2025, including a 43 percent increase among people ages 20 to 24; a 35 percent increase among those ages 35 to 44; a 32 percent increase among those ages 25 to 34, and a 30 percent increase among those ages 16 to 19.5 6
The BLS data do not identify the cause of a respondent’s disability or vaccination status. The data do, however, demonstrate notable disability trends before and after the rollout of the mRNA COVID biologic. Authors of a 2021 peer-reviewed article published in Discoveries stated that the novelty of mRNA-based biologics required “stringent monitoring.” The researchers stated:
Due to the existing critical situation, the stages of vaccine development and testing have probably never been gone through so fast as at present. Because of the recentness of the usage of mRNA-based vaccines, possible long-term effects as well as the duration of immunity are still difficult to assess. Therefore, they will play an important role in the future development of mRNA vaccines and a stringent monitoring is required in present time.7
Former BlackRock Portfolio Manager Points to Post-2021 “Sudden, Not Normal Aging”
In an Aug. 11 Substack post, former BlackRock portfolio manager and Wall Street investment professional Edward Dowd, who spent decades analyzing financial and economic data and previously managed a multibillion-dollar growth equity portfolio, said he has been tracking the rise in reported disabilities using BLS data since “early in the COVID era.” He said, “February 2021 marks the clear inflection. The rate of increase shifted to a new, steeper trajectory, a 3-to-4 sigma departure from the prior trend. In the years since, the survey has added seven million people.”8
He continued:
Growth of that magnitude in a mature population is not normal aging, not ‘long COVID’ in isolation, and not some gradual sociological shift. It was sudden. It has persisted. And it continues to be treated as background noise by the same public health authorities who spent years obsessed with every other metric.9
Fraud, Immigration Do Not Explain Post-2021 Disability Trend
Dowd also addressed what he calls “predictable objections” to his analysis, including the claims that the significant increase reflects people committing fraud or “gaming “ disability benefits, or that that undocumented immigrants are “flooding the numbers.” Dowd argued that the BLS data are based on the Current Population Survey rather than disability benefit claims and said undocumented immigrants “under-respond or avoid government surveys altogether out of fear of detection, deportation risk, or general distrust of authorities.”10 He added:
The questions have been consistent since 2008. Response patterns do not suddenly invent millions of new disabled respondents because the political winds shifted. When the same survey that markets, banks, and the Federal Reserve rely upon for labor-market signals produces a multi-year, multi-sigma break in disability prevalence, the responsible reaction is investigation, not dismissal.11
The Data Will “keep speaking”
Dowd warned that the economic implications and consequences of ignoring these trends will continue to compound. He said:
Public health agencies and the media have largely ignored the signal. There has been no serious, transparent inquiry into why the disability rate changed slope so sharply in early 2021 and has remained elevated. The trend has not been explained by health authorities, has not been investigated with appropriate rigor, and has not been reversed. Until that changes, the data will keep speaking whether anyone in authority cares to listen or not.12
Documented COVID Shot Injuries Can Result in Long-Term Disabling Conditions
Both people suffering with Long COVID after being infected with SARS-CoV-213 or suffering COVID shot injuries have been documented and revealed long-term disabling conditions negatively affecting organ, neurological and immune system function.
A July 1, 2026 case report published in Medical Research Archives found vaccine-derived mRNA, spike protein and plasmid DNA sequences in a 55-year-old man more than three years after his last Pfizer mRNA COVID shot. Following his third shot, the man developed progressive multisystem illness, including pulmonary emboli, myocarditis, neurological and cognitive problems, autonomic dysfunction and chronic inflammation. Despite more than 40 emergency room visits, 200 outpatient specialty appointments and hundreds of laboratory, imaging and functional studies, extensive testing remained largely inconclusive.14
According to an Aug. 29, 2026 Daily Mail report, United Kingdom pharmacist John Cross developed chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) following an AstraZeneca COVID shot, leaving him with severe mobility impairment after months of hospitalization. The report stated that a government medical assessor reviewing Cross’s claim under the U.K. Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme concluded that the vaccine caused his neurological condition. After his compensation claim was rejected following a two-year process, Cross’s mental health reportedly deteriorated significantly. He took his own life in October 2023 while still appealing the decision.15
In an interview with Sky News, Cross’ daughter, Liz Whitehead, said her family has “had all their vaccinations and continues to” since losing Cross to suicide. She said:
But now you start to question. If a rare, unusual thing were to take place, the system’s not got your back. It’s not there for you… is it worth the risk?16
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Click here to view References:1 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Table A-6. Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Sex, Age, and Disability Status, Not Seasonally Adjusted. Aug. 7, 2026.
2 BLS. Table A-6. Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Sex, Age, and Disability Status, Not Seasonally Adjusted. Mar. 5, 2021.
3 BLS. Table A-6. Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Sex, Age, and Disability Status, Not Seasonally Adjusted. Aug. 7, 2026.
4 BLS. Table A-6. Employment Status of the Civilian Population by Sex, Age, and Disability Status, Not Seasonally Adjusted. Mar. 5, 2021.
5 BLS. Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics, 2020. Feb. 24, 2021.
6 BLS. People with a Disability: Labor Force Characteristics, 2025. Mar. 3, 2026.
7 Fortner A, Schumacher D. First COVID-19 Vaccines Receiving the US FDA and EMA Emergency Use Authorization. Discoveries 2021 Mar. 5; 9(1): e122.
8 Dowd E. US Disabilities Hit an All-Time High of 37 Million In July: UP 23% Since Feb 2021. Ed Dowd: Beyond the Narrative Aug. 11, 2026.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Ibid.
13 Rahmanti M, Uden P, Kang J et al. Long-Term Sequelae of COVID-19;:A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Systems 3 Years Post-SARS-Cov-2. J Med Virol June 2015; 97(6).
14 Hulscher N, Schmidt V, Morz M, et al. Persistence of Vaccine mRNA, Plasmid DNA, Spike Protein, and Genomic Dysregulation Over 3.5 Years Post-COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination. Medical Research Archives. July 2026.
15 Fletcher E. The Terrifying Number of Patients Who Have Suffered Covid Jab Complications Revealed After NHS Pharmacist Left Paralysed by Vaccine Takes His Own Life. Daily Mail Aug. 29, 2026.
16 Moore T. Pharmacist Who Took His Own Life After COVID Jab Complications Was Denied Compensation. Sky News Sept. 20, 2024.
One Response
Injecting chemical poisons and gene altering biological infused nano technology directly into your blood stream causes disablement? More fake news. Vaccines are safe and effective. End of story.
From a medical industrial complex and pharmasuetical stock investment perspective, I’m not seeing the problem here. Investments and customer participation tracked upward at an unprecedented rate. We’ve earned a lot of profit from these investments. We’ve employed far more medical care staff than we’ve ever needed before. Keep up the good work guys, we’re more than satisfied with these programs.
Please let the Whitehead family know we sincerely appreciate their continued patronage to our products and services. Let’s make sure to get them a gift card or fruit basket or something of that nature, a get well condolences type of deal. See everyone at the club this sunday for another round of golf. We’re taking reservations for our yearly Mediterranean yacht club trip, so be sure to get those in by next week if you’re interested.