Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Sep 28;9(10):1097.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines9101097.

COVID-19 Vaccinations: A Comprehensive Review of Their Safety and Efficacy in Special Populations

Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 Vaccinations: A Comprehensive Review of Their Safety and Efficacy in Special Populations

Zhipeng Yan et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

COVID-19 has been spreading worldwide since late 2019. There is no definitive cure to date. Global vaccination programs are urgently required to confer herd immunity, reducing the incidence of COVID-19 infections and associated morbidity and mortality. However, a significant proportion of special populations are hesitant to receive vaccination due to their special conditions, namely, age (pediatrics and geriatrics), immunocompromised state, autoimmune diseases, chronic cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions, active or treated cancers, and pregnancy. This review aims to evaluate the existing evidence of COVID-19 vaccinations on these special populations and to provide clues to guide vaccination decision making to balance the benefits and risks of vaccinations.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccinations; comorbidities; frailty; pregnancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Zhu N., Zhang D., Wang W., Li X., Yang B., Song J., Zhao X., Huang B., Shi W., Lu R., et al. A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020;382:727–733. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. McArdle A.J., Vito O., Patel H., Seaby E.G., Shah P., Wilson C., Broderick C., Nijman R., Tremoulet A.H., Munblit D., et al. Treatment of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. N. Engl. J. Med. 2021;385:11–22. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2102968. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ackermann M., Verleden S.E., Kuehnel M., Haverich A., Welte T., Laenger F., Vanstapel A., Werlein C., Stark H., Tzankov A., et al. Pulmonary Vascular Endothelialitis, Thrombosis, and Angiogenesis in Covid-19. N. Engl. J. Med. 2020;383:120–128. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2015432. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yan Z., Yang M., Lai C.-L. Long COVID-19 Syndrome: A Comprehensive Review of Its Effect on Various Organ Systems and Recommendation on Rehabilitation Plans. Biomedicines. 2021;9:966. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines9080966. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jain S., Sen S., Lakshmivenkateshiah S., Bobhate P., Venkatesh S., Udani S., Shobhavat L., Andankar P., Karande T., Kulkarni S. Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children with COVID-19 in Mumbai, India. Indian Pediatr. 2020;57:1015–1019. doi: 10.1007/s13312-020-2026-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources