Bulletin 24
Bulletin 24
Bulletin 24
Please ensure that people being vaccinated are provided with the PIL produced by the manufacturer in addition to
any HSE leaflets and aftercare materials. This is an important requirement specified by the Health Products
Regulatory Agency (HPRA). Do ensure that you accept delivery of any new PILs that are delivered to your setting by
the cold chain service as it will contain the most up-to-date information from the manufacturer including any new
added adverse events. When a new version of the information is received, please ensure older versions are
destroyed so that people are given the correct version.
The report also summarises the latest EMA safety updates including:
Health care professionals should be aware of clinical care guidance on the management of TTS e.g. in countries
where local guidance isn't available they suggest using the guidance produced by the International Society on
Thrombosis and Haemostasis. The Irish Haematology Society Coagulation Special Interest Group has produced
national guidance on this subject.
Safety update for Vaxzevria around capillary leak syndrome (CLS). CLS has been added as a new side effect for
Vaxzevria and a previous history of CLS is a contraindication to the vaccine.
There is an ongoing EMA review of pericarditis and myocarditis post vaccination. Health professionals should
report any suspected cases. Individuals should seek medical attention if they notice symptoms after vaccination
(such as shortness of breath, a forceful heartbeat that may be irregular, and chest pain).
Check your user profile to ensure your vaccinator name, professional number type and professional
identification number (PIN) are accurate
Ensure vaccinator profession type and professional number type are complete
Ensure correct and complete vaccinator details are recorded on immunisation records after vaccination.
Accurate and complete vaccinator details must be recorded on all immunisation records
Importance of the second dose in preventing hospitalisation from the Delta variant
The latest analysis (published as a pre-print) from Public Health England provides further evidence that the
vaccines are highly effective against preventing hospitalisation from the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) in England after
2 doses: Comirnaty (Pfizer BioNTech) is 96% effective and Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) is 92% effective. The vaccines
have a similar effectiveness against the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7). Further analysis is underway to understand the
impact of vaccination on deaths due to the Delta variant (it is expected to offer a high level of protection similar to
other variants).
It is important that individuals receive both doses of the same vaccine (unless there is a clinical contraindication)
as it provides increased and longer lasting protection against COVID-19 including the Delta variant now circulating
widely in the United Kingdom.
The contraindications and precautions to vaccination are detailed in the clinical guidance and National
Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) immunisation guidelines on COVID-19 vaccines. If someone has had a
reaction to the first dose of vaccine but it is not listed as a contraindication, then they can receive the second dose
of the vaccine.
Read more here
The Delta variant was found to be prevalent across all ages but particularly in children aged 5-9 years and
higher socioeconomic groups. The Delta variant was also associated with a significantly increased risk of
hospitalisation (nearly twice that compared to the Alpha variant) particularly in those with multiple comorbidities.
Vaccination (two weeks after the second dose) was effective at reducing hospitalisation:
Comirnaty (Pfizer/BioNTech) was 92% effective against hospitalisation with the Alpha variant and 79% effective
against hospitalisation with the Delta variant.
Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) was 73% effective against hospitalisation with the Alpha variant and 60% effective against
hospitalisation with the Delta variant.
They reviewed reactogenicity and immunogenicity data. Interim analysis shows the reactogenicity between the
heterologous prime-boost vaccine schedule was similar to those who received two doses of the Comirnaty.
Good immune response was noted from both vaccine schedules with slightly better T-cell response and higher
serum antibody avidity following the heterologous prime-boost vaccine schedule.
They studied the impact of vaccination on 177 communities with low underlying natural immunity.
They found a correlation between high vaccination rates and lower infection rates later in unvaccinated children
within the same community. They estimate that by vaccinating an additional fifth of the population in a
community (aged 16-50) this results in nearly a two-fold reduction in positive test fraction within the
unvaccinated cohort (children under 16 years of age).
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Register here
You must register on this platform to complete training if you previously registered on HSeLand. HSeLand
recommend downloading your certificates of completion from the interim HSeLand platform so you can load
them to your learning record when HSeLand is available again.
A new email address for healthcare professionals only to direct any urgent clinical or technical queries
to. Please do not send any patient identifiable information to this email address as the email will be
deleted and you will be asked to resend without this information.
Should vaccines be exposed to temperatures outside of parameters please contact the National
Immunisation Office immediately. Contacts include:
Queries that are not clinical or technical cannot be answered by the National Immunisation
Office.
The National Immunisation Office is not involved in the allocation or delivery of COVID-19
Vaccines.
Read about the role of the National Immunisation Office in supporting the COVID-19 vaccination programme on our website.
Recommendations about COVID-19 vaccine are changing as more information becomes available
so please visit our website for the most up to date information.