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Thousands of people reported mental health challenges — including at least two suicides and three attempted suicides — to V-safe after receiving COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the V-safe app in December 2020 to allow the public to report adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines.
Data analyzed by The Defender include V-safe reports from people with a history of mental health issues before the vaccine, who reported those issues became significantly worse after the vaccine.
Other reports came from people who experienced thoughts of suicide or self-harm for the first time after being vaccinated.
The data also include reports from people who said physical injuries related to COVID-19 vaccines took a toll on their mental health.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week launched a clinic to study and treat vaccine injuries — less than a month after React19, an advocacy group for the vaccine-injured, released an analysis of V-safe’s entries that included widespread pleas for help.
React19’s analysis found a similar number of people expressing suicidal statements or a death wish (344 participants) — and 8,193 “cries for help” from 1,468 people.
Psychotherapist Joseph Sansone, Ph.D., told The Defender there is evidence that COVID and mRNA injections are “associated with anxiety, depression, insomnia, brain fog, dizziness, psychosis, mania and other mental health issues.”
Sansone, author of “Psychopathic Authoritarianism: A Disease of the Soul,” said the mental health challenges can also result from the ongoing physical pain caused by vaccine injuries. Those injuries can lead to “subsequent grief and loss,” he said.
“Many victims struggling with physical health issues struggle with grief and loss related to their physical illnesses. This is only outweighed by the sense of betrayal and violation,” Sansone said.
‘Covid vaccine is ruining my life’
The CDC released the V-safe data in 12 installments between Dec. 14, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2022, following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN).
The data contain over 7.5 million responses from nearly 3.5 million people.
The Defender’s analysis of the data identified at least 300 reports that referenced suicide following COVID-19 vaccination — including two successful suicides.
“Our 18 yr old son committed suicide 4/6/2021 and passed 4/7/2021,” one report read. Another report stated, “Committed suicide due to insomnia.”
At least three reports described attempted suicide. One described a vaccine-injured person who “developed [celiac] disease and axial spondyloarthritis syndrome, and has attempted suicide 3 times.”
Another report stated, “Worsening depression with suicidal ideation, which led to a suicide attempt on December 26th, 2021. I overdosed on 47 prescription medications (Risperidone, Lamictal, Strattera), and was emergently admitted to SJH 12/26/21. Have pain in both legs.”
Dozens of reports described thoughts of suicide, alongside other challenges involving mental and physical health. The reports included:
- “Crying daily, also at the time I was feverish after the vaccine I was suicidal. These are very uncharacteristic of me, I believe they were connected to the vaccine.”
- “Depression that started with waves of sadness and mild depression with some suicidal thoughts is getting worse. I can’t seem to get out of this last wave of depression. Not informing consumers of this risk can be life-threatening.”
- “I been depressed had odd sleeping patterns, been had suicidal and homicidal thoughts. Covid vaccine is ruining my life. When you know your body and are in touch, you can tell when there is an imbalance.”
- “Can’t focus at times. Tired more of the time. Flat out FEAR of potential adverse side effects from vaccinations and boosters, due to Gov. failure to disclose true status of persons who have had adverse reaction. Thoughts about suicide more often.”
- “I have no history of mental illness but my 1 st Moderna vaccine caused profound mania then suicidal depression.”
Some reports described patients who sought psychiatric or medical help:
- “Suicidal thoughts with a plan. Admitted to pediatric inpatient psych counselling.”
- “For suicide tendencies. Was in mental hospital 3 weeks.”
- “Depression, suicidal thoughts, rage | Suicide prevention.”
- “Admitted to psychiatric facility for active suicidal ideation. Diagnosis is severe depression with no psychotic features and recurrent episodes of PTSD.”
- “The vaccine might have made me suicidal? I dont know for sure, but my depression got really bad shortly after my second dose. I think Ive seen a case report about it being a rare side effect. My doctors are helping me but I wanted to mention it.”
For many, help didn’t come. “Skin/OCD Flaring EXCRUCIATING! I called CDC many times prior to dose 2 and when I begged someone to help me saying if the Vax makes my ocd worse I will become suicidal she hung up on me. I beg you please reverse this. HELP! I beg you fix it please!,” one report read.
React19’s analysis of the V-safe data found that federal health agencies overlooked pleas for help from vaccine injury victims and their family members.
“Many kept writing for weeks or months. Their entries describe promised callbacks that never came, pleas for help with no reply, and repeated questions about whether anyone was reading at all.”
‘If a person suffers from any mental illness, this shot will flare it up’
Some reports described the worsening of existing mental health issues following vaccination:
- “I have Major Depressive D/O and Ive had major increase in depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts past 3 days.”
- “Incredible drop of mood, depression, suicidal ideation second day after COVID 2 vaccination. I suffer from Bipolar 2, but my mood was excellent on the day I received the COVID shot #2.”
- “Really sad for 2 days. Have depression and stable on antidepressants for 30 years. Most emotional and sad than I have been in decades! Not suicidal but weird for me.”
- “If a person suffers from any mental illness, this shot will flare it up.”
Other reports described possible interactions between the COVID-19 vaccine and antidepressant medications:
- “Prozac stopped working. I had a lil breakdown & had to take time off of work b/c the distance btwn the bathroom & my office was enough for me to go from at capacity to crying & looking up what happens after a suicide attempt.”
- “Partial paralysis in arm still and now excessive depression. Wondering if vaccine reacted with lexapro. First time in months Ive felt suicidal.”
Harms to reproductive health contributed to mental health challenges
Some reports also described difficulties with reproductive health post-vaccination, which contributed to a worsening mental state.
“My period was 4 days late and I had terrible depressive & suicidal thoughts during PMS,” one report read.
Another stated, “Still not menstruated since vaccinated and anxiety and suicidal thoughts with severe depression.”
Naomi Wolf, Ph.D., CEO of DailyClout and author of “The Pfizer Papers: Pfizer’s Crimes Against Humanity,” said the “potential connection” between COVID-19 vaccine ingredients such as lipid nanoparticles, risks to reproductive health and impacts on mental health, “must be studied further.”
Wolf said:
“The mental health symptoms and the reproductive symptoms … do not surprise me, as they are readily explained at least in part by the action of lipid nanoparticles. These fatty substances are designed to cross the blood-brain barrier, so by definition, they can cause brain inflammation and even brain damage.”
She said “The Pfizer Papers” revealed that the lipid nanoparticles also “accumulate in ovaries and block fallopian tubes, as well as triggering bleeding and even shedding of uterine lining, which causes horrible menstrual and reproductive damage.”
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Studies link COVID vaccines to psychosis, insomnia, anxiety and more
A 2022 PubMed review identified numerous peer-reviewed studies linking COVID-19 vaccines to psychiatric disorders, including psychosis, insomnia, hallucinations and mania — mostly in young or middle-aged adults.
A large study of the population in Seoul, South Korea identified an increased risk of depression, anxiety, dissociative, stress-related and somatoform disorders, and sleep disorders.
A 2025 case study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry identified three cases of women, ages 55 to 73, who self-reported developing symptoms of anxiety and depression after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
A 2024 review published in the Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives journal in the Republic of Korea identified seven studies which reported sleep disorders such as narcolepsy and insomnia. Two studies documented cases of anxiety, while panic attacks, agitation and brain fog were each reported in a single study.
Related articles in The Defender
- NIH Will Run Vaccine Injury Research and Treatment Center, Pay Doctors to Report Vaccine Injuries
- Watch: Naomi Wolf Discusses ‘Chilling’ Revelations From Pfizer Documents
- Exclusive: 37-Year-Old Injured by Pfizer Vaccine Had to ‘Learn to Walk and Speak Again’
- Exclusive: 29-Year-Old’s Career Came ‘Crashing’ Down After Pfizer COVID Vaccine Injury
- NIH in Early 2022 Abruptly Stopped Responding to People Injured by COVID Shots
- Pfizer Failed to Disclose Deaths of Two Women in COVID Vaccine Clinical Trials
