True and false contraindications to vaccines

Abstract

Nowadays, the awareness of risks related to infectious diseases has decreased, whereas THE perception of risks related to vaccination is growing. Therefore, it may be difficult for health care providers to convince people of the importance of vaccination and adherence to the immunisation schedule. Selected situations that might raise uncertainties about vaccine recommendations are discussed in order to help health care providers to identify real and perceived contraindications to vaccines, and cases to be referred to specialised pre-vaccination consultation due to an increased risk of adverse events to vaccines.

A race for a better understanding of COVID-19 vaccine non-adopters

“…Overall, it is imperative for health experts to understand that vaccine hesitants’ cost-analysis of vaccination adoption may be drastically different, and perhaps most importantly, may not be accurately grounded in evidence ( The Associated Press-, 2020 ; roup and A future v, 2020 ), where even though a vaccine could save lives, livelihoods, and GDPs ( Yamey et al., 2020 ; Lurie et al., 2020 ; Thanh Le et al., 2020 ; Graham, 2020 ), an extremely low probability of vaccine-related adverse effect may hinder their adoption behaviours ( Opri et al., 2018 ). For people who have egg allergies or those who perceive they may have a hypersensitive reactions to vaccines without any clinical foundations ( Opri et al., 2018 ), regardless of whether a COVID-19 vaccine contains egg proteins, how soon it becomes available, or how safe and effective it may be, they may still be reluctant to adopt the vaccine because the perceived personal health-related risks (i.e., an allergic reaction) outweigh the proposed potential benefits (i.e., protection from the virus). Thus, it is important for health experts to communicate safety measures in an informative as well as persuasive manner ( Noar et al., 2009 ), in order to effectively clear these vaccine hesitants’ unjustified doubts.…”

Ethics of Vaccination in Childhood—A Framework Based on the Four Principles of Biomedical Ethics

“…By the principle of nonmaleficence, vaccination is contraindicated for them [ 71 ]. Contraindications can be temporary (i.e., current therapies (high dose steroids, chemotherapy …), pregnancy (for live attenuated vaccines) and reactivation of autoimmune disease) or permanent (i.e., allergy to vaccine’s ingredient, serious adverse events to a prior dose of vaccine and immunodeficiency (for live attenuated vaccines)) [ 71 , 76 ]. When there might be an increased risk for adverse effect, vaccination should be delayed or performed with caution in order to react properly [ 71 ].…”

TIPICO IX: report of the 9th interactive infectious disease workshop on infectious diseases and vaccines

“…Martinón-Torres (Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago, Spain) discussed false contraindications and their influence on vaccination. False contraindications are common in routine clinical practice, 119,120 and partly explain the low vaccination coverage registered in some countries and the missed opportunities for immunization. Importantly, median missed opportunities are estimated at 32% by the WHO, 121,122 representing interesting targets for focusing efforts to improve vaccine uptake.…”