Evidence suggests vitiligo cases are rising due to Covid-19 vaccine

Evidence suggests vitiligo cases are rising due to Covid-19 vaccine

Evidence suggests vitiligo cases are rising due to Covid-19 vaccine. Image: Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock.com

Covid-19 vaccines may cause side effects and trigger certain auto-immune conditions, such as vitiligo according to Medical News Today on Wednesday, July 13.

Scientists believe this occurrence may relate to the effect of vaccination on melanocytes.

Melanocytes are the cells responsible for giving skin its colour and contain the pigment melanin. After a COVID-19 vaccination, new immune cells may attack melanocytes in some cases.

Vitiligo is a disease that causes loss of skin colour in patches. The discoloured areas usually get bigger with time.

The condition can affect the skin on any part of the body. It can also affect the hair and the inside of the mouth.

Normally, the colour of hair and skin is determined by melanin.

Vitiligo occurs when cells that produce melanin die or stop functioning. Vitiligo affects people of all skin types.

The condition is not life-threatening or contagious but it can be stressful or make you feel bad about yourself.

Treatment for vitiligo may restore colour to the affected skin. But it doesn’t prevent continued loss of skin colour or a recurrence.

Symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) in adults can include:

  • a high temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
  • a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
  • a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
    shortness of breath
  • feeling tired or exhausted
    an aching body
  • a headache
  • a sore throat
  • a blocked or runny nose
  • loss of appetite
  • diarrhoea
  • feeling sick or being sick

The symptoms are very similar to symptoms of other illnesses, such as colds and flu.


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Written by

Anna Ellis

Originally from Derbyshire, Anna has lived in the middle of nowhere on the Costa Blanca for 19 years. She is passionate about her animal family including four dogs and four horses, musicals and cooking.

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