A new IMA paper in Frontiers in Medicine charts a path for diagnosing Post-Acute COVID-19 Vaccination Syndrome, or PACVS, by proposing biomarkers, protocols, and a practical clinical framework.
PACVS is a post-vaccine condition in which new, often debilitating symptoms arise and persist for months following COVID-19 vaccination.
Instead of getting the care they desperately need, many PACVS patients have found themselves erased. The system currently lacks the language to describe what they’re going through. But, thanks in large part to a growing chorus of affected individuals and independent researchers, PACVS has gone from being dismissed to documented.
Earlier this year, the Independent Medical Alliance helped publish the first peer-reviewed definition of PACVS, offering a clinical framework for what many have long experienced but struggled to name. Now, a new study published in Frontiers in Medicine takes the next crucial step: it proposes a diagnostic roadmap clinicians can actually use.
This research is not theoretical for those living with PACVS. It addresses a real and urgent need: how to move from vague symptoms and systemic denial to a practical framework that doctors can follow. In a system with no codes, no training, and no protocols, this paper offers a starting point for the care people are searching for.
“For years, patients suffering from post-vaccine complications have felt unseen, unheard, and dismissed. This publication in Frontiers in Medicine is an essential step in bringing scientific clarity and compassion to their experience,”—Dr. Joseph Varon, Co-Author
📖 Read and Download the Full Paper
Restoring trust in vaccination: listening to patients and acknowledging Post-Acute COVID Vaccine Syndrome Authors: Matthew Halma, Dr. Joseph Varon
The paper proposes a diagnostic framework for PACVS based on emerging biomarker evidence and a patient-centered approach. It calls for measurable criteria to differentiate PACVS from post-infection syndromes and outlines tools that may one day anchor clinical diagnosis.
The Diagnostic Roadmap
Today, there are no official diagnostic codes for PACVS. No insurance reimbursement. No formal protocols. Most patients are met with shrugs, referrals, or worse: accusations of anxiety or exaggeration.
To solve this, the authors propose a layered, practical diagnostic framework that clinicians can begin to use now. This roadmap outlines a set of tools to help distinguish it from other conditions and provide a rational path toward care.
- Antibody Clues: Infection or Vaccination?
Antibody tests can help clarify whether symptoms followed infection or vaccination. Anti-spike antibodies are found after both, but anti-nucleocapsid antibodies only appear after infection. While not definitive, they offer context for the origin of symptoms.
- Persistent Spike Protein in Blood
Detecting spike protein in the blood long after vaccination may suggest that the body is still being exposed to the antigen, which may drive symptoms.
- Spike Protein in Tiny Carriers (Extracellular Vesicles)
Tiny particles called extracellular vesicles can carry spike protein through the body, potentially triggering widespread symptoms even when viral PCR is negative.
- Autoantibodies and Immune System Disruption
Some patients develop unusual autoantibodies—immune proteins that attack their own cells. These patterns may be unique to PACVS and different from what’s seen in long COVID.
- Distinguishing Vaccine Spike from Viral Spike
Advanced lab tools (mass spectrometry) can now tell the difference between spike protein from the vaccine and spike from the virus. PCR targeting the vaccine’s unique mRNA sequences offers another route to confirming vaccine-origin pathology.
“This technique offers a molecular-based endpoint of defining whether chronic spike antigenemia occurs as a result of prior infection or continued expression of vaccine-induced spike.” —Study Authors
This roadmap doesn’t promise a single diagnostic test today, but it offers the foundation for doctors to take patient complaints seriously and begin building real treatment pathways. It offers something the system still lacks: direction.
Why It Matters and Why It Took This Long
PACVS patients have often been ignored or told their symptoms are unrelated—a familiar story for those who’ve spent months or years navigating a medical system that offers no name, no test, and no treatment.
The structural failures run deep:
- WHO’s causality algorithm excludes injuries appearing after a narrow time window
- VAERS is underused by clinicians, underpublicized, and misunderstood
- Doctors face institutional pressure and knowledge gaps
- PACVS is often misclassified as long COVID, further delaying accurate diagnosis and leading to inappropriate or missed treatment
At the same time, elements such as persistent spike protein and immune dysregulation have been repeatedly documented in the scientific literature. This study helps synthesize that emerging science into something actionable.
What Needs to Happen?
PACVS patients are not asking for miracles. They’re asking for a diagnosis. A place to start. And until now, that didn’t exist. Although IMA published treatment guidance for PACVS years ago, many patients still struggle to find a doctor who takes their symptoms seriously, let alone follow our protocols.
What’s been missing for years is structure: something clinicians can point to, reference, and act on. This study gives them that starting point.
The authors outline what needs to happen next:
- Establish PACVS as a formal diagnosis with an ICD-10/ICD-11 code
- Train clinicians to recognize, report, and respect vaccine-related injuries
- Collect patient samples and data through dedicated biobanks
- Fund diagnostic tools and treatment trials that reflect this unique condition
Without the above, patients are left to hunt for sympathetic doctors, pay out of pocket, and live without answers. The good news? This work has already begun. IMA research has helped define the condition, surface the evidence, and map the first signs of a care pathway.
Recent studies include:
- New Research Defines Post-Vaccine Syndrome
- New Study Proves COVID Injections Not “One Size Fits All”
In addition to IMA’s research, there is a growing body of research internationally, including papers on immune dysfunction post-COVID shot. To continue the momentum, the Journal of Independent Medicine (IMA’s journal) is now accepting papers on PACVS for a special edition releasing in 2026. If you or anyone you know is studying PACVS, we welcome your submissions!
“[This work] demonstrates something vital: independent clinicians and researchers are leading the way in producing transparent, conflict-free science. The IMA is proud to stand at the forefront of this work.” —Dr. Joseph Varon, Co-Author
👉 Learn More & Submit: Call for Papers – 2026 Special Editions
From Debate to Diagnostics
This new study stands on the shoulders of a growing body of research, patient experience, and clinical observation. The existence of PACVS is no longer up for debate. The work now is to build the systems that recognize it, diagnose it, and treat it.
As we close 2025, we invite clinicians, researchers, and advocates to contribute to the next phase:
