Information for People who have had an Organ Transplant

Self-monitoring before your COVID 19 vaccine

It is very important that you monitor how you are feeling in the days leading up to your vaccine appointment. If you do not feel well, rebook for when you are feeling better.

All of the COVID-19 vaccines available in Canada are safe, and they do not contain any live virus. The vaccines cannot give you COVID-19.
Current evidence suggests that unless you have an allergy to any of the vaccine ingredients, you should strongly consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine. People who have had an organ transplant have a higher chance of experiencing severe symptoms or death from COVID-19 as compared to the average person if they become infected. This outweighs the small chance of side effects from the vaccine.
People who have had an organ transplant or who were on immune system suppressing drugs were not included in the clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccines. We do not know exactly how much protection the vaccine will give you compared with people who have not had an organ transplant or are not on these medications.
The current evidence suggests that people with transplants or those taking immune system suppressing drugs may get less protection from COVID-19 infection from the vaccines, but it is still likely that these people will get some protection from infection and serious disease.
It is not known if any particular type of COVID-19 vaccine is more or less effective in patients with transplants.
The time between your vaccinations will be based on the current recommendations from Public Health.

If you very recently received an organ transplant (within the three months), your transplant care team will get in touch with you and let you know when it is the best time for you to be vaccinated. You can also reach out to your transplant care team. Please do not book your vaccine until you have consulted with them.

If you are on the wait list for a transplant, you are encouraged to get your COVID -19 vaccination whenever it is made available to you.
If you have a planned transplant and know the date, you should discuss this with your transplant team before receiving the vaccine.

If you have recently been taking rituximab, or if you have recently been treated for acute organ rejection, please contact your transplant care team before you book your vaccine. They will help you plan the best timing for vaccination based on your treatment.
You should continue to take your anti-rejection medications regularly as prescribed.
Please do not change the way you take any of your medications unless instructed otherwise by your transplant care team.
Contact your transplant care team if you have any questions or concerns about the timing of vaccination in relation to your medications.
If you don’t see your medication listed, or if you take medications for another condition and you aren’t sure if you need to consider timing, contact your health-care provider.

Review COVID-19 Immunization Plan for Newfoundland and Labrador
In the 2-3 days leading up to your vaccine appointment, monitor yourself. Are any of the typical symptoms of your condition new or worsening? If you aren’t feeling well, rebook your vaccine appointment for another day. Consider reaching out to your health care provider about your symptoms.

Please bring your non-expired MCP card to your appointment.
You can bring any medical or mobility equipment that you need.
If you need to, you can bring a trusted friend, family member or caregiver with you to support you through the process and/or translate for you if needed. Please only bring one person.

Everyone who gets a COVID-19 vaccine will stay on location to be monitored for 15 minutes after they get their vaccine.
You should tell a health-care provider at the vaccination site if you do not feel well.
If you have any new or worsening symptoms once you go home, please call your health care team or 8-1-1. If you have a severe allergic reaction, call 9-1-1 immediately.
You will still need to continue following all COVID-19 public health measures, even after getting a vaccine.

Read the COVID-19 vaccine information for my condition(s)
Time my vaccine appointment around my medication and treatments (if relevant to me)
Talk to my doctor if I have any questions or need any help planning my medication
Monitor how I’m feeling leading up to my vaccination appointment. Is anything new or getting worse compared to how I usually feel?
Make sure I am feeling my usual self on the day of my vaccine appointment
Plan to bring the medical and mobility equipment I need with me

April 23, 2021