Vaccination against COVID-19 for hematologic patients: A review of clinical guidelines

Abstract

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the need to accelerate the development of vaccines targeting SARSCoV-2. A large number of researchers have already confi rmed that patients with cancer have a high risk of mortality from COVID-19. Hematologic diseases and the therapy of these diseases are very heterogeneous, therefore it is expected that the immune response to infection or vaccination will be more variable in this cohort of patients. Accordingly, questions arise regarding the safety and effi cacy of vaccines in the context of immune changes caused either by the hematological disease itself or by the therapy that is administered to the patient.Aim — to summarize the current understanding of the effi cacy and safety of vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 in patients with hemoblastosis and other hematological diseases.Basic information. Legalized COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective for the general population. Given the high mortality rate among patients with hematological diseases, which is ten times higher than the mortality rate in the general population, vaccination is a priority for this group of patients. The current lack of clinical trial data on the effectiveness and safety of vaccines against COVID-19 in hematological patients raises a large number of questions among specialists and patients. This is also due to the fact that for most of the approved vaccines immunocompromised patients were not included in the phase III clinical trials. Thus, most patients with hematological diseases could not participate in these studies, and therefore the effectiveness and safety of vaccines against the causative agent of COVID-19 have not been thoroughly studied in this group.Current recommendations for vaccination against COVID-19 in hematological patients are based on expert opinion, including past experience of immunizing these patients against other viral infections.Conclusions. Vaccination of patients with hematological diseases and their environment (medical staff, relatives, caregivers) is one of the necessary methods to prevent high mortality from a new coronavirus infection during the COVID-19 pandemic.