COVID-19 Shots Associated with Neuropsychiatric Disorders

A 2025 study published in the International Journal of Innovative Research in Medical Science examined whether mRNA COVID-19 shots are linked to neuropsychiatric conditions, raising questions about their potential to damage the brain and mental health. The researchers, most of which are affiliated with The Wellness Company and the McCullough Foundation, note that the mRNA biologicals use lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver instructions to cells throughout the body, including the brain, to produce spike protein.¹

There are three pharmaceutical corporations marketing COVID-19 shots in the U.S., including Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, both using mRNA technology to produce the Comirnaty and Spikevax biologicals, and Novavax, which does not use mRNA technology to produce its protein-based COVID-19 shot. The Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine is no longer available in the U.S.² Since December 2020, it is estimated about 80 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one COVID shot³ and the majority of people have been injected with the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID biologicals.⁴

The researchers pointed out:

 Although these experimental, non-traditional “vaccines” were classified as vaccines under a new CDC definition, they contained a degradation-resistant mRNA sequence coding for a single COVID-19 viral antigen, known as the spike protein. The spike protein can cross the blood-brain barrier through vascular damage and exhibit pathological activity, while both the LNPs and the spike protein are highly inflammatory. It is also known that the mRNA for the spike protein can be expressed in the brain following both a natural infection and, particularly, after repeated COVID-19 mRNA ‘vaccinations’.⁵

Citing earlier reports of severe cognitive decline, psychiatric disorders, and even rare conditions like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease following receipt of the mRNA COVID shots, the researchers argue that regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (FDA) have underestimated the risks posed by these genetically engineered biological products released for distribution under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).⁶

Researchers Use MedAlerts to Examine Neuropsychiatric Disorders Following COVID-19 Shots

 The independent research team used MedAlerts, which is an online search engine sponsored by the National Vaccine Information Center since 2006, to access vaccine adverse event reports that have been made since 1990 to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Created under the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, VAERS is jointly operated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The researchers analyzed reports from January 1, 1990, through December 27, 2024, focusing on adverse events involving cognitive problems, psychiatric symptoms, and suicidal or homicidal behavior following COVID-19 shots. While VAERS includes more than 34 years of vaccine adverse event data (420 months), COVID-19 shots account for just 48 of those months, from early 2021 through the end of 2024. To identify specific mental and cognitive issues, the researchers used the most detailed symptom categories from the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA), listing them exactly as they appear in VAERS to ensure replication.⁷

Researchers analyzing VAERS data through MedAlerts found strong signals connecting COVID shots to a range of neuropsychiatric complications. Using a method called Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR), they compared COVID shot reports to those for influenza and other vaccines. A PRR of two or more signals a safety concern. In this study, some PRRs reached well into the hundreds and even thousands.⁸

Cognitive issues like brain fog, dementia, and memory loss were reported at dramatically higher rates after receipt of COVID shots. For example, “brain fog” was reported over 100 times more frequently for those who received COVID shots compared to those who received flu shots. Serious brain-related conditions like cerebral hemorrhage and venous sinus thrombosis also showed significant increases after COVID shots.⁹

Psychiatric symptoms including anxiety, psychosis, and schizophrenia also appeared far more frequently after COVID shots than expected. The PRR for development of anxiety after receipt of COVID shots was 117 compared to influenza vaccines, and schizophrenia reached over 300. The study identified a cluster of VAERS reports related to suicidal and homicidal behavior following injection of the COVID biological. The data showed an 80-fold increase in the development of these severe neuropsychiatric outcomes after COVID shot compared to influenza vaccines, and a 14-fold increase compared to all other vaccines combined. The researchers emphasize that while mental health is influenced by many factors, the sharp increase in these types of reports over the past four years suggests the COVID shots may play a significant role development of neuropsychiatric conditions.¹⁰

Supporting studies from other countries also show possible links between receipt of COVID shots and cognitive decline. Some researchers suggest the spike protein produced by mRNA vaccines may contribute to long-term brain dysfunction. Although VAERS was designed to red flag unusual reports of adverse events associated with vaccines post-licensure and cannot prove causality, the scale and consistency of the pattern of adverse events following receipt of COVID shots indicated in these findings have raised serious concerns. The researchers urge federal health agencies to conduct a comprehensive investigation and release information about COVID shot adverse events with greater transparency.¹¹

Government Agencies and Medical Journals Defend COVID Shot Safety Despite Internal Reports

According to the study’s researchers, on Apr. 21, 2021, CDC director Rochelle Walensky, MD, along with New England Journal of Medicine editors Eric Rubin, MD and Stephen Morrissey, MD, published an op-ed affirming that mRNA COVID shots were safe and that VAERS was a reliable, adequate tool for monitoring vaccine adverse effects; however, just seven weeks earlier, Pfizer had submitted its internal post-marketing analysis for Comirnaty-associated adverse events to the FDA.¹²

That report documented over 42,000 reported adverse event cases, including 1,223 deaths, in the first ten weeks after the Comirnaty shot rollout that began in December 2020 under an EUA.  According to the researchers, these early figures represented the highest number of deaths ever recorded for a medical product in such a short period. The FDA and Pfizer reportedly sought to withhold this data from the public for up to 75 years.

The study researchers observe that, in 2023, Tom Shimabukuro, MD, head of the CDC’s Vaccine Safety said the agency took vaccine injury reports “very seriously.” Yet some medical professionals and independent analysts argue that the CDC’s actions did not reflect the urgency that reports of such serious adverse events following COVID shots demanded.¹³

Institutions such as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have also downplayed the reliability of VAERS during the pandemic, describing the database as vulnerable to misuse. However, Johns Hopkins University receives extensive federal funding, including over $1.3 billion in 2022, and partners with the CDC on vaccine development and research initiatives. These relationships have raised concerns among some experts about potential conflicts of interest in public health policymaking.¹⁴

Questions have also been raised about the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a private medical trade association, which began strongly promoting the administration of mRNA COVID shots to pregnant women after receiving a $11 million grant from the CDC. While ACOG maintains its stance is based on medical science, others point to the need for disclosure of funding ties to government and industry that may influence the trade group’s vaccine use recommendations.¹⁵

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