“New legislation blocks hospitals from denying surgery or transplants if you’re unvaxxed.”
I’m happy to see this type of thinking occurring. Between 2020 and 2022 I had 3 surgeries. The hospital was pretty militant about vaccination and COVID testing prior to surgery.
The surgery was a subtalar arthrodesis, which requires the body to fill in bone. For some mysterious reason, months went by, and my body failed to build bone. The surgery was repeated; the same thing occurred. A third surgery went to the extreme and an intramedullary nail was put in through the bottom of my foot and I was placed in a long leg cast. The total time I spent on crutches and in casts was 21 months, followed by months of physical therapy. To further complicate things, that third surgery normally would require a hospital stay but they made it outpatient according to their COVID rules. I had lost so much blood that when I returned home, I lost consciousness, and my wife called the paramedics.
Needless to say, I have a bit of an axe to grind on this one. Please let us move on and start fixing these harmful rules.
Copilot:
SARS-CoV-2 Impairs Osteoblast Differentiation Through Spike Glycoprotein and Cytokine Dysregulation
Yes — recent research suggests the SARS‑CoV‑2 spike protein can directly interfere with bone‑forming processes.
A January 2025 study found that both live virus and inactivated virus containing the spike glycoprotein can impair the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts (the cells that build bone). Key findings:
- Reduced mineral and organic matrix deposition during osteoblast development.
- Lower expression of RUNX2, a master transcription factor for bone formation.
- Increased IL‑6, a cytokine known to inhibit osteoblast activity.
- Upregulated RANKL, which promotes osteoclast differentiation — tipping the balance toward bone resorption rather than bone building.
- Neutralizing the spike protein significantly reduced these effects, indicating the spike itself is a driver of the disruption.
Other work on post‑COVID musculoskeletal effects shows that infection can also accelerate joint damage and bone loss via inflammatory and vascular pathways, suggesting that the spike protein’s role in immune and endothelial activation may contribute indirectly to skeletal changes.