Скачать или смотреть Vaccination in at risk patients, - what should you know? - Your Pharmacist Informs

With this video we are launching a new themed channel, Your Pharmacist Informs, focused on the world of vaccines. This is a monthly initiative to publish video-advice on different topics related to vaccination.

The purpose of this video-advice channel is to provide robust, quality health information, backed by professional pharmacists. Consequently, you can educate people, especially given misinformation circulates on the Internet and in social networks.

Vaccination against infectious diseases in at-risk groups may be either specially advised or contraindicated, depending on the patient's underlying disease or immune status and the type of vaccine.

When speaking of patients at risk we can distinguish between risk groups and risk situations.

Risk groups include
o people with immune system deficiencies, such as for example: oncology patients or transplant recipients undergoing treatment with immunosuppressive drugs,
o chronically ill patients such as those with diabetes, cardiovascular or respiratory disease, among others.
o institutionalized persons, such as residents in social and health centers or prisons.
o and some other cases, such as people with Down's syndrome or in prolonged treatment with acetylsalicylic acid or anticoagulants.

On the other hand, some work environments are considered to be at risk, such as the staff of child education centers, health personnel or caregivers of elderly or high-risk persons; pregnant and breastfeeding women may also be considered at risk.

Most commonly, given the safety of vaccines, they are specifically indicated for certain groups and situations of risk, and there are few situations in which vaccination is contraindicated.

For example, measles- mumps-rubella (MMR) and varicella vaccines are contraindicated during pregnancy, in immunocompromised patients and in patients with HIV and a very low CD4 T-lymphocyte count (less than 200 per microliter). The reason is that these vaccines are composed of live attenuated viruses and the immunodeficiency situation does not allow the development of an adequate immune response.


The influenza vaccine, on the other hand, is usually recommended specifically for all risk groups and also in most risk situations, including pregnancy.

In the case of vaccination against COVID-19, the Ministry of Health recommends the administration of additional doses for people who, due to a compromised immune system, are unlikely to achieve a sufficient degree of protection with the recommended schedule for the general population. This recommendation extends to persons over 60 years of age, institutionalized persons and social and health care personnel who work in contact with groups at risk.

To know the recommended vaccination schedule for the year 2023 for people at risk, you can consult the official information published by the Spanish Ministry of Health, whose links are included in the description of the video so that you can access it directly. Both for adults and children under 18 years of age:

Adults:
https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesiona...
o Under 18 years:
https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesiona...

And remember, always ask your trusted pharmacist. We will help you and answer any questions you may have about vaccines.

Referencias
Grupo de trabajo vacunación en población adulta y grupos de riesgo de la Ponencia de Programa y Registro de Vacunaciones. Vacunación en grupos de riesgo de todas las edades y en determinadas situaciones. Comisión de Salud Pública del Consejo Interterritorial del Sistema Nacional de Salud. Ministerio de Sanidad, Consumo y Bienestar Social, julio 2018.
Consejo Interterritorial del Sistema Nacional de Salud. Vacunación específica en personas adultas (≥18 años) con condiciones de riesgo. Calendario recomendado año 2023.
Consejo Interterritorial del Sistema Nacional de Salud. Vacunación específica en menores y adolescentes (18 años) con condiciones de riesgo. Calendario recomendado año 2023.
Ministerio de Sanidad. Actualización de las recomendaciones de vacunación frente a COVID-19 para el otoño-invierno en España. Disponible en: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/profesiona....