Contents
- Vaccination against COVID-19 for pregnant women
- Vaccination against COVID-19 for women who are breastfeeding
- Vaccination against COVID-19 for people with allergies
- COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents up to 16 years of age
- COVID-19 vaccine for people with HIV and immunosuppressive therapy
- Double dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
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Vaccination against COVID-19 is underway in Poland. Many people, however, wonder who can get the COVID-19 vaccine. Experts from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) come to the rescue.
- Who can get vaccinated against COVID-19? CDC experts explain how to proceed in the case of pregnant and breastfeeding women. In their case, vaccination may be administered after informing that there are no tests on this group
- Vaccination is also recommended for people infected with HIV. Under certain conditions, allergy sufferers can also benefit from the COVID-19 vaccine
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.
Vaccination against COVID-19 for pregnant women
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer / BioNTech has not been tested in clinical trials on pregnant women, but this is by no means new. None of the vaccines developed so far has been tested on this specific group. Manufacturers of drugs and vaccines are always reluctant to include pregnant women in preliminary clinical trials for fear of negative effects on the developing fetus or the risk of pregnancy.
According to the CDC, pregnant women should be able to get the vaccine, but be informed that it has not been tested in this particular group of people. The UK Immunization Committee takes a different view and advises pregnant women not to vaccinate. Experts on COVID-19 working at the president of the Polish Academy of Sciences, who point out the lack of clinical trials in this group, speak in a similar vein.
The Pfizer director said there are no concerns about the safety of pregnant women, based on preliminary data from animal studies conducted to see if the vaccine could pose a risk to fetal development. This type of animal testing, called developmental and reproductive toxicity testing, is a prerequisite for the testing of vaccines in pregnant women.
Vaccination against COVID-19 for women who are breastfeeding
As in the case of pregnant women, the safety of vaccines has not been investigated in the case of lactating and lactating women. On the other hand, it is believed that mRNA vaccines, such as the Moderna and Pfizer preparations, do not pose a threat to an infant fed on mother’s milk. For this reason, the CDC indicates that breastfeeding women are in the priority group for COVID-19 vaccination, unless of course they choose to do so.
Vaccination against COVID-19 for people with allergies
Following reports that two nurses had a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine, there were well-founded concerns as to whether people with known allergies should be vaccinated. The CDC guidelines, which the agency published on its website, divide people with allergies into three groups:
- continuation of vaccinations is recommended;
- careful vaccination;
- failure to vaccinate.
People who are allergic to food, pet hair, latex, and other common allergies are among the first group, which means they can get the COVID-19 vaccine. As are people who are allergic to medicines taken by mouth and patients who have experienced a mild allergic reaction to the vaccine, or have had a family history of someone who had an anaphylactic reaction but did not experience it themselves.
Careful vaccination is recommended after careful risk assessment in those who have had a severe allergic reaction to vaccine or injection therapy. If you have a severe allergic reaction to the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, you should not take another dose. People who have had a severe anaphylactic reaction in the past to any component of the vaccine for COVID-19 cannot be immunized.
A detailed list of vaccine ingredients is provided in the FDA fact sheet.
COVID-19 vaccine for children and adolescents up to 16 years of age
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is approved for use in people over the age of 16. Currently, clinical trials are underway for the use of the preparation in adolescents aged 12-15 years. In the case of children under 11 years of age, the tests will require the so-called dose de-escalation, i.e. determining what dose of the vaccine is tolerated by younger organisms.
At the moment, the vaccine is not approved for use in children under 16 years of age.
COVID-19 vaccine for people with HIV and immunosuppressive therapy
Several HIV-infected volunteers have participated in clinical trials of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, but so far there are insufficient data to analyze this group of people.
According to the CDC, people with HIV can be vaccinated against COVID-19, but must be instructed that the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine has not been thoroughly investigated in immunocompromised people, so even after receiving the vaccination, they should use other protective measures. infection.
In the case of people who take medications to suppress the immune system, e.g. organ recipients, vaccination may be performed, as long as these people do not have other conditions that exclude the given preparation.
Double dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
People who received the first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine should take another dose after 21 days. Only then will they be properly protected. The same will be true of the COVID-19 Moderny vaccine, which will also be administered in two doses.
It is possible that, as a result of further research, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can be used interchangeably, but until this aspect is thoroughly investigated, people vaccinated with a particular vaccine should also take a second dose of vaccination from the same manufacturer.
Further research is also to show whether the COVID-19 vaccine can be administered simultaneously with the flu vaccine as part of the so-called combined vaccination, known to us, among others from MMR vaccines that protect against measles, mumps and rubella.
Also check who cannot get COVID-19 vaccine.
The editorial board recommends:
- How to convince people to vaccinate against COVID-19? Nine important arguments
- Prof. Simon on what we are in for a COVID-19 vaccine
- “Let others vaccinate, I will wait.” The “waiting-out” strategy will not do us any good
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