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. 2024 Sep;32(3):147-154.
doi: 10.21101/cejph.a8170.

Occurrence of adverse events following vaccination in patients with allergies: a prospective study

Petra Macounová  1 , Hana Tomášková  1 , Rastislav Maďar  1   2
Affiliations
Free article

Occurrence of adverse events following vaccination in patients with allergies: a prospective study

Petra Macounová et al. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2024 Sep.
Free article

Abstract

Objectives: Allergic patients may be concerned about more frequent and/or more severe adverse events following vaccination, which may lead to the refusal of vaccines among these patients. The aim of this study is to assess whether allergic patients have more frequent adverse events (AEs) after vaccination than healthy individuals.

Methods: Study participants (N = 591) underwent vaccination of their choice at a selected Vaccination and Travel Medicine Centre. At a 10 to 14-day interval, they were contacted for a telephone questionnaire survey on the occurrence of AEs after vaccination. A group of allergic patients (n = 188) and healthy controls (n = 403) were followed in the study.

Results: No significant difference was found in the occurrence of AEs between study and control group. Only in redness and swelling, which was more common in allergic patients, but only in a few individuals. All side effects were minor, such as pain at the injection site or fatigue. No participant experienced a serious or life-threatening adverse event. In the studied group, no statistically significant differences were found even in the occurrence of AEs after singular vs. simultaneous administration of vaccines (p = 0.094), nor after vaccination with inactivated vs. attenuated vaccines (p = 0.655), or after vaccination against bacterial vs. viral infections (p = 0.140).

Conclusions: Vaccination of allergic patients did not cause more frequent and/or more serious adverse events in our study compared to healthy people. If general contraindications are observed, then vaccination of allergic patients is considered safe.

Keywords: adverse event following vaccination; adverse events; allergy; prevention; vaccination.

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