Immunologically relevant aspects of the new COVID-19 vaccines-an ÖGAI (Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology) and AeDA (German Society for Applied Allergology) position paper.

BACKGROUND

The vaccines against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) approved in the European Union represent a decisive step in the fight against the pandemic. The application of these available vaccines to patients with pre-existing immunological conditions leads to a multitude of questions regarding efficacy, side effects and the necessary patient information.

RESULTS

This review article provides insight into mechanisms of action of the currently available severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines and summarises the current state of science as well as expert recommendations regarding tolerability of the vaccines. In addition, the potential to develop protective immune responses is determined. A special focus is given on patients under immunosuppression or in treatment with immunomodulatory drugs. Special groups of the population such as children, pregnant women and the elderly are also considered.

CONCLUSION

Despite the need for a patient-specific risk-benefit assessment, the consensus among experts is that patients with immunological diseases in particular benefit from the induced immune protection after COVID-19 vaccination and do not have an increased risk of side effects.

Informations de copyright

© The Author(s) 2021.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Conflict of interestP.M. Brunner is an employee of the Medical University of Vienna and has received personal fees from LEO Pharma, Pfizer, Sanofi Genzyme, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Celgene, UCB Pharma, Biotest, Boehringer Ingelheim, AbbVie, Amgen and Arena Pharmaceuticals. He also works as an investigator on behalf of Novartis and has received grants for his institute. T. Eiwegger serves as principal investigator for DBV’s company-sponsored studies and as a secondary investigator (sub-investigator) for Regeneron. He also receives grants from Innovation Fund Denmark and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) outside the submitted work. He is co-investigator or scientific lead in three investigator-initiated oral immunotherapy studies supported by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Program‘SickKids’. In addition, serves as Associate Editor for Allergy. He/his laboratory has received unconditional in-kind support from Macro Array Diagnostics and ALK. He also serves as an Advisory Board Member for ALK. W. Reinisch has acted in an advisory capacity for: Abbvie, Algernon, Amgen, AM Pharma, AMT, AOP Orphan, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Astellas, Astra Zeneca, Avaxia, Roland Berger GmBH, Bioclinica, Biogen IDEC, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cellerix, Chemocentryx, Celgene, Centocor, Celltrion, Covance, Danone Austria, DSM, Elan, Eli Lilly, Ernest & Young, Falk Pharma GmbH, Ferring, Galapagos, Gatehouse Bio Inc., Genentech, Gilead, Grünenthal, ICON, Index Pharma, Inova, Intrinsic Imaging, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Lipid Therapeutics, LivaNova, Mallinckrodt, Medahead, MedImmune, Millenium, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, MSD, Nash Pharmaceuticals, Nestle, Nippon Kayaku, Novartis, Ocera, OMass, Otsuka, Parexel, PDL, Periconsulting, Pharmacosmos, Philip Morris Institute, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Prometheus, Protagonist, Provention, Quell Therapeutics, Robarts Clinical Trial, Sandoz, Schering-Plough, Second Genome, Seres Therapeutics, Setpointmedical, Sigmoid, Sublimity, Takeda, Therakos, Theravance, Tigenix, UCB, Vifor, Zealand, Zyngenia and 4SC. E. Untersmayr, E. Förster-Waldl, M. Bonelli,K. Boztug, K. Eller, L. Göschl, K. Grabmeier-Pfistershammer, W. Hötzenecker, G. Jordakieva, A.R. Moschen, B. Pfaller, W. Pickl, U. Wiedermann, L. Klimek, K.-C. Bergmann, R. Brehler, W. Pfützner, N. Novak, H. Merk, U. Rabe, W. Schlenter, J. Ring, W. Wehrmann, N. Mülleneisen, H. Wrede, T. Fuchs and E. Jensen-Jarolim declare that they have no competing interests.