January 15, 2021
At TIBI and at Transplant Research and Education Center (TREC), we believe that rapid communication of information about COVID-19 vaccination to transplant patients and ongoing monitoring of patient outcomes are two important ways to keep patients safe as we move forward into 2021.
On Friday December 11th, one of the many SARS-COV-2 vaccines being developed in the United States was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization. This vaccine is being manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech and is planned for distribution starting as early as mid-December. In addition to Pfizer’s vaccine, another vaccine produced by Moderna is expected to be authorized before the end of the year, and five other vaccines are in various clinical trial phases.
With the rapid progression in vaccine authorizations, many transplant patients will undoubtedly be wondering what this means for them. Based on current vaccine knowledge, transplant clinical professionals and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and one of the United States’ top COVID-19 experts, strongly recommends that immunocompromised people, like transplant patients, get vaccinated. Read this article for more information:
https://www.ajmc.com/view/taking-immunosuppressants-fauci-says-get-the-covid-19-vaccine
Though the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine will be going to front-line healthcare workers, the next batches will be prioritized for high-risk and other essential worker groups in the coming weeks and early 2021. The American Society of Transplantation recommends getting vaccinated more than 2 weeks before transplantation or 1 to 6 months after transplantation.
TREC has created a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that you can find under the ‘The new COVID-19 vaccines’ section of the website here https://exploretransplant.org/covid-19/. This information is designed to aid transplant patients and others involved with transplantation in making informed choices. It has been reviewed for medical accuracy by UCLA Health. It will continue to be updated in a timely manner to reflect changes in what is known and additional progress being made in COVID-19 vaccines.
This FAQ goes over essential vaccine information, such as:
- The different vaccines being created
- How the vaccines work
- Who should and should not get vaccinated
- Vaccine safety for transplant patients
- Immunity, reinfection, and infection after vaccination
- How to stay safe after getting vaccinated