If you developed Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) sometime after getting the COVID19 vaccination, there is strong evidence that the latter is related to the former. Symptoms of PMR are aching joints, especially in the shoulders and pelvis, which can be debilitating
BREAKING STUDY: COVID-19 “Vaccination” Linked to 6,800% Higher Odds of Debilitating Autoimmune Muscle Disease
CDC/FDA data reveal a massive safety signal for polymyalgia rheumatica—an autoimmune inflammatory disease causing severe muscle pain and debilitating stiffness.
A new study titled “Association Between COVID-19 Vaccination and Polymyalgia Rheumatica: A Review and Case Series Report” reports a powerful safety signal linking COVID-19 vaccination to polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR)—a debilitating autoimmune inflammatory disorder characterized by severe muscle pain and systemic inflammation.
The paper was authored by Dr. Erik Nilssen, Dr. James Thorp, Claire Rogers, Kirstin Cosgrove, Dr. Steven Hatfill, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Dr. Kelly Victory, Dr. Alejandro Diaz-Villalobos, Nicolas Hulscher (myself), and Dr. Peter A. McCullough.
In our analysis, we examined reports from the CDC/FDA Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and detected a striking disproportionate increase in PMR cases following COVID-19 vaccination compared with other vaccines. We also report three clinical cases of polymyalgia rheumatica observed in recent medical practice following COVID-19 vaccination or spike protein exposure.
Polymyalgia rheumatica primarily affects adults over age 50 and can leave patients with crippling shoulder, neck, and hip pain, profound morning stiffness, fatigue, and elevated inflammatory markers. Many patients require long-term corticosteroid therapy to control symptoms.
Massive Safety Signal Detected in U.S. Vaccine Database
We analyzed reports from the CDC/FDA Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) spanning 1990–2026 and identified:
- 2,227 cases of polymyalgia rheumatica reported after COVID-19 vaccination
- 233 cases after influenza vaccination
- 526 cases after all other vaccines combined
After adjusting for the duration of vaccine availability, the safety signal became striking.
The odds ratio over time (ORt) for PMR following COVID-19 vaccination compared with influenza vaccination was:
69.4 (95% CI: 51.4–93.6, p < 0.0001, Z = 27.7)
When COVID-19 vaccination was compared with all other vaccines combined, a similarly strong signal persisted:
30.7 (95% CI: 23.1–40.8, p < 0.0001, Z = 23.6)
For context, regulators define a vaccine safety signal as a disproportionality measure of ≥2.
These findings exceed that threshold by more than an order of magnitude, indicating an unusually strong association between COVID-19 vaccination and reports of polymyalgia rheumatica.
The extremely large Z-scores—23 to 27 standard deviations above expected values—indicate that the probability of this signal occurring by chance is extraordinarily small.



