Anne, a resident of Ruisbroeck in Flemish Brabant, believes that she cannot receive the vaccine once morest Covid-19. At 62, she suffers from collagenosis, an autoimmune disease which, according to her, would represent a contraindication to vaccination. Is it true ? What to do when you cannot be vaccinated? How to get your Covid Safe Ticket? Here’s what the experts are saying regarding it.
“I suffer from collagenosis, an autoimmune disease that does not allow me to be vaccinated once morest Covid”, writes Anne to us via the orange button Alert us. Suffering from this pathology for forty years, this resident of Ruisbroek, in Flemish Brabant, tells us that she never gets sick. “I have too much immunity, I never have the flu, my body struggles with it.”
She is followed by a homeopathic doctor specializing in autoimmune diseases. It was also her, Anne specifies, who recommended that she not have the vaccine. “She told me that it would be less serious if I catch the Covid than if I get the vaccine. The vaccine can do more damage than the Covid. When I take a drug, it has negative effects on my body. And take an RNA vaccine, my doctor told me it was dangerous for me “, says our interlocutor who is determined not to take the plunge. And for good reason, she thinks she is less fragile in the face of Covid-19. “Again the other day, I had a bad cold. I did a self-test, it was negative. I was in contact for a week with people who had the Covid. They were very little sick but I was in quarantine with them and I didn’t catch anything. “
If his illness seems to be an advantage, in reality it is not. Anne assures us that she suffers the consequences of collagenosis. “I get tired very quickly, my legs hurt, sometimes I am not well. I am a former gymnastics teacher so I am of a nature to force myself. I did my job to the end and I force still sometimes. This disease is hard to live with on a daily basis. But it is by period, I come out of a very difficult period with the fall “, details the sexuagenarian.
Obtain your Covid Safe Ticket thanks to the serological test?
Faced with this situation that she and her husband judge “catastrophic”, the couple tries to find solutions. But according to them, the government is doing nothing to “cases like mine.” What annoys Anne above all is having to pay 30 euros each time she performs a PCR test. She also cannot do activities or travel when the Covid Safe Ticket is required. “Even for the people to whom we are invited, we say no… I am also told that I can be a carrier of the virus”, she slips.
Anne tells us to feel “alone in the world”, alone in this situation. “I would like people who have this too to come forward. I know that other people cannot have the vaccine because they are allergic. That we look for a solution for these people.” Her husband supports her as best he can, but he admits to feeling isolated. “We have been looking for a solution for months. In Switzerland, however, they have the solution: the people concerned can take a serological test to obtain the Covid Safe Ticket valid for 90 days if they have the antibodies”, explains the one who is used to traveling in this country.
Most in Belgium, this possibility is not possible. “The serological test is not recognized as being a protection because it is not known what level of antibodies is sufficient to be protected once morest the virus, informs us Yves Van Laethem, infectious disease specialist and interfederal spokesperson for the fight once morest the coronavirus. Some countries accept it, others do not… But in Belgium, it is not accepted. “
“It is extremely rare that a person cannot make the vaccine”
At present, there is no contraindication to vaccination, unless there is a proven allergy to one of the constituents of the vaccine, i.e. hypersensitivity to the active substance. or to the excipient (substance other than the active principle) which accompanies the active principle. The contraindication means that one cannot be vaccinated, which is very rare to date. “When we have collagenosis, we have autoimmunity, that is, immunity directed once morest ourselves. It attacks our own proteins when we are supposed to be made to tolerate ourselves. fight once morest that, we try to reduce the person’s immunity “, developer Yves Van Laethem.
For patients who suffer from an autoimmune disease, it is recommended to have a vaccination
Even though Anne’s doctor advised her once morest getting the vaccine, that doesn’t mean she can’t do it. “On the contrary, we encourage people with autoimmune to take the vaccine because they are more at risk. It is extremely rare that a person cannot get the vaccine.”, insists the interfederal spokesperson for the fight once morest the coronavirus. “Autoimmune diseases are not a contraindication for the RNA vaccine”, for his part, supports Jean-Michel Dogné, expert at the Belgian Medicines Agency and the European Medicines Agency. “It is even the reverse. For patients who suffer from an autoimmune disease, it is recommended to have a little more important vaccination”, he also says.
Alternatives for people with allergies to the vaccine
In the case of an allergy to the vaccine, there is nevertheless an alternative: the possibility of receiving a vaccine with a composition similar to those with messenger RNA. “We also offer the possibility of being vaccinated in specialized centers surrounded by allergists “, notes Jean-Michel Dogné. In these cases, at the time of administration of the dose, the patients are placed under surveillance by specially qualified allergist physicians. “Tests are also carried out beforehand to analyze the risks of reaction”, specifies this expert. The real reason for not administering the vaccine is therefore when the patient has had a severe reaction to the first dose. “Again, it’s very rare”, he insists.
If a person is in this situation, one of the authorized allergists can then make him a certificate proving that he cannot receive the vaccine once morest the Covid-19. She will receive her Covid Safe Ticket but it will only be valid in Belgium. In Anne’s case, the decision not to get the vaccine would be her personal choice, at least in the eyes of the authorities. There is therefore no solution to obtaining your Covid Safe Ticket since it is not a contraindication to vaccination.
