The Problem
Millions of individuals worldwide report persistent, disabling symptoms following COVID-19 vaccination. Post-Acute Vaccination Syndrome (PACVS) presents with chronic fatigue, cognitive impairment, neuropathy, dysautonomia, exercise intolerance, and multi-organ dysfunction. Despite peer-reviewed evidence of distinct autoantibody profiles, cytokine elevations, and spike protein persistence, there remains no formal case definition, no validated diagnostic panel, and no completed clinical trial for this condition.
The Gap
| What's Needed | Current Status |
|---|---|
| Formal diagnostic criteria | Does not exist |
| Validated biomarker panel | Does not exist |
| International research network | Does not exist |
This summit addresses all four.
The Approach
We employ a modified Delphi consensus process — the gold-standard method for establishing expert agreement on medical questions where evidence is emerging but incomplete:
- Pre-meeting anonymous survey (Round 1): Panelists rate candidate diagnostic criteria, biomarkers, and research priorities on standardized Likert scales.
- Half-day virtual workshop: Structured breakout groups address contested items. Facilitated discussion ensures all voices are heard.
- Post-meeting survey (Round 2): Panelists re-rate items in light of the group discussion.
- Consensus thresholds: Results are reported per ACCORD (Accurate Consensus Reporting Document) guidelines, with pre-specified agreement thresholds.
Who Is Behind This
Matthew Thomas J Halma, MSc, MBA
Director, Open Source Medicine Foundation
Matthew Halma is a researcher with a background in computational biophysics, drug discovery, and clinical research methodology. His peer-reviewed publications on spike protein pathology, metabolic modulation, and post-vaccination syndrome have appeared in Frontiers in Medicine, Advances in Virology, Microorganisms, and other journals. He leads the ViTAL SCAN clinical trial investigating metabolic modulation therapy for PACVS.
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