NOP, which is an unwanted post-vaccination reaction, can occur after any vaccine is given. Fortunately, most side effects after vaccination are mild and disappear quickly, and usually do not require treatment or are not complicated to treat. When can we talk about the NOP? How do I report a vaccine adverse reaction?

NOP, that is, the undesirable post-vaccination reactionshould be distinguished from the physiological reaction of the organism to vaccination. - The body's reactions after the administration of vaccines may be diverse, but it should be emphasized that not all of them can be classified as an undesirable post-vaccination reaction.

Relatively often there are so-called physiological reactions after vaccination, often equated with adverse reactions after vaccination. However, the intensity of these reactions and the duration of these reactions is generally quite short and they usually pass spontaneously.

Often, the difference between the physiological response after vaccination and the NOP is small, so the test is qualified by the doctor - explains the differences between the NOP and the body's physiological response to vaccination in an interview with the portal www.zaszczkasiewiedza.pl professor Iwona Paradowska-Stankiewicz , national consultant in the field of epidemiology.

What is NOP?

On the website of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, i.e. a state institution responsible, inter alia, for collecting data from doctors on the occurrence of adverse reactions after vaccinations, we find the following definition:

"Adverse Vaccine Reaction (NOP) is an undesirable disease symptom temporarily related to the vaccination performed"1 .

This definition emphasizes the occurrence of a causal relationship between vaccination and the symptom and only on this basis allows to assess whether, for example, fever or seizures were caused by the administration of the vaccine. And this is where the medical consultation mentioned by Professor Paradowska-Stankiewicz is needed, which will allow to correctly qualify the reaction. The doctor performs such qualification on the basis of an interview with the parent or guardian of the child, examination of the child or other vaccinated person, and based on certain criteria.

NOP(undesirable post-vaccination reaction) - types

NOP - adverse reaction after vaccination -is most often fever and reaction at the injection site. If the vaccination is properly carried out and your baby is monitored after the vaccine is given, there is no cause for concern. Serious reactions are extremely rare, including:

  • fainting or impaired consciousness
  • generalized urticaria
  • shortness of breath
  • difficulty breathing
  • high fever (>40 degrees)
  • hard-to-soothe cry or scream
  • reduction of muscle tone
  • convulsions
  • changing the child's behavior
  • blood in stool
  • vomiting
  • other non-specific symptoms.

Mostserious events after vaccinationare not directly related to the effect of the vaccine (sometimes they only sensitize vaccine additives such as gelatin and egg white), and convergence in time is random, these symptoms could for example be a symptom of a beginning respiratory infection.

Vaccine opponents often refer to data from the VAERS1 database2(Vaccines Adverse Reporting System) maintained by official US government agencies: CDC ( Disease Control and Prevention Center) and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). However, on the VAERS website you can find information that the data is not verified in terms of cause and effect, i.e. the described adverse reactions occurred after vaccination, but it is not certain whether they are related to this procedure in any way.3In other words, while VAERS is an interesting and valuable body of information about public he alth in its vaccine clip, it cannot be considered a reliable source of information about the NOP.

Izabela Filc-Redlińska in her book "Vaccines. Don't get crazy" gives the example of an American anesthesiologist who reported to VAERS that after vaccination the patient turned into Hulk - a green monster from popular comics4 . This provocation showed that the database is not a collection of verified information on adverse vaccine reactions from which scientific conclusions can be drawn.

Can NOP be avoided?

To avoid some symptoms of NOP, the doctor should carefully examine the child before vaccination and ask parents (guardians) about possible adverse reactions after previous vaccinations, about medications and blood products taken by the child.

The doctor must also carefully memorize the situations in which the childrenshould not be vaccinated. There are not many of these situations and vaccinations should not be given up too quickly. In case of any doubts, you can seek advice from the Vaccination Consulting Center, which operates in each voivodeship, and their list is easily available.

After the child is qualified for vaccination and its implementation, parents should stay at the clinic for at least 30 minutes to take appropriate action in the event of an immediate adverse vaccination event.

However, if symptoms appear later, parents should take their child to the doctor, possibly to the same place where the child was vaccinated.

Who should report NOP and how?

Reporting post-vaccination reactions is a legal obligation, because it results directly from the Regulation of the Minister of He alth and Social Welfare of December 21, 2010, which imposes such an obligation on doctors. The fragment of the regulation reads:

"A doctor or paramedic who recognizes an undesirable vaccine reaction or suspects its occurrence, completes parts I-IV of the report form and submits the report to the state poviat sanitary inspector competent for the place where the suspicion of a vaccine reaction is suspected.

According to the regulations in force, an adverse vaccine reaction (NOP) is any medical condition that occurs after vaccination. This means that NOPs may be the result of an individual reaction of the vaccinated human body to administration of the vaccine, a vaccine administration error (e.g. incorrect route of administration - subcutaneous instead of intramuscular), and may result from mere coincidence (no causal relationship, only convergence The question remains as to when the undesirable effects may be related to the vaccination. This was also regulated:

"Unless otherwise stated, and with the exception of post-BCG reactions, medical disorders that occur within 4 weeks of vaccination are considered temporally related to vaccination."

The NOP reporting form completed by the doctor should be forwarded to the nearest sanitary and epidemiological station as soon as possible.

Can a parent report an NOP?

From November 2013, NOPs can also be reported by parents without consulting a doctor. Such information can be reported to the Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products (http://www.urpl.gov.pl/pl). Each application is checked in terms of its formal and content-related nature, and then sent tothe WHO (World He alth Organization) database and the European database that collects information on side effects of medicines and medical preparations.

Adverse postvaccination reactionsare a fact and denial is an attitude that is detrimental to public he alth. For many years, doctors and experts have been trying to improve the reporting system, and are also considering the possibility of introducing a compensation fund, similar to the one existing in the USA or the Czech Republic, for people who have experienced serious, confirmed, side effects after vaccination.

However, the awareness of the possibility of NOP occurrence should mobilize parents to an open, calm, substantive conversation with a doctor about doubts about vaccinations, and not uncritically listening to statements from online forums feeding on fear for their loved ones. The statistics clearly show that vaccination helps to avoid disease and complications related to infectious diseases, and severe NOPs are extremely rare.

Even if out of 2,111 qualified NOPs, 3 severe reactions were found, they account for 0.1% of all NOPs, and complications after measles occur in 30% of patients.

Child immunization - side effects

Many parents choose not to vaccinate their children due to possible side effects from the vaccinations. Alicja Karney, a pediatrician from the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw, tells about what reactions may occur after vaccinations.

Category:

Infectious diseases