A 62-year-old man from Magdeburg, Germany, reported receiving 217 Covid-19 shots between June 2021 and November 2023.

Going Against National Recommendations

One German man has redefined “man on a mission.” A 62-year-old from Magdeburg deliberately got 217 Covid-19 vaccine shots in the span of 29 months, according to a new study, going against national vaccine recommendations. That’s an average of one jab every four days.

Walking Experiment on the Immune System

In the process, he became a walking experiment for what happens to the immune system when it is vaccinated against the same pathogen repeatedly. A correspondence published Monday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases outlined his case and concluded that while his “hypervaccination” did not result in any adverse health effects, it also did not significantly improve or worsen his immune response.

Breaking the Guidelines

The man, who is not named, reported receiving 217 Covid shots between June 2021 and November 2023. Of those, 134 were confirmed by authorities and through vaccination center documentation; the remaining 83 were self-reported.

Unprecedented Case

“This is a really unusual case of someone receiving that many Covid vaccines, clearly not following any type of guidelines,” said Dr. Emily Happy Miller, an assistant professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology.

No Adverse Effects Reported

The man did not report any vaccine-related side effects and has not had a Covid infection to date. The researchers caution that it’s not clear that his Covid status is directly because of his hypervaccination regimen.

Not a Recommended Strategy

The researchers also say they do not endorse hypervaccination as a strategy to enhance immunity. Dr. Kilian Schober, senior author of the study, emphasized, “The benefit is not much bigger if you get vaccinated three times or 200 times.”

An Unusual Immunization History

According to his immunization history, the man got his first Covid vaccine in June 2021. He got 16 shots that year and ramped up his efforts in 2022.

No Impact on Immune System Quality

The researchers found that hypervaccination increased the quantity of immune cells but did not negatively affect the quality of the adaptive immune system. “If you take the allegory of the immune system as an army, the number of soldiers is higher, but the soldiers themselves are not different,” explained Schober.

Tolerability of the Vaccines

“The observation that no noticeable side effects were triggered in spite of this extraordinary hypervaccination indicates that the drugs have a good degree of tolerability,” said Schober.