The Safety of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines: Vigilance Is Still Required

The opinion I put forward in this paper is that attention must continue to be paid to clinical observations compatible with a detrimental effect of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in certain diseases of immunological nature. Using the example of the atypical thrombocytopenic thromboses caused by adenoviral-vector-based vaccines, I argue that usual post-marketing pharmacovigilance programs may fail in identifying very rare vaccine-related disorders. Since the robust protective immunity induced by mRNA vaccines is related to their distinct capacity to induce strong stimulation of T follicular helper cells, I suggest that the safety of mRNA vaccines should be further assessed by appropriately designed epidemiological and mechanistic studies focusing on lymphoproliferative and autoimmune diseases in which T follicular helper cells were found to play a key role.

Automated summary

The paper suggests that attention should be given to clinical observations of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines potentially causing harmful effects in certain immunological diseases. The example of atypical thrombocytopenic thromboses caused by adenoviral-vector-based vaccines is used to argue that post-marketing pharmacovigilance programs may not be sufficient in identifying rare vaccine-related disorders. Additionally, the safety of mRNA vaccines is proposed to be further assessed through appropriately designed epidemiological and mechanistic studies focusing on lymphoproliferative and autoimmune diseases involving T follicular helper cells.