Vaccinations clinic opens at MedUni Vienna
Austria's first specialist vaccinations clinic will open at the Medical University of Vienna on October 22nd. The outpatient clinic will specialise in patients who, as a result of illness or disease, require personalised care in relation to vaccinations.
At-risk groups include people with cancer, autoimmune diseases, immunosuppression or immune deficiencies, people who have had transplants, who are obese, pregnant women, people who have allergies or even people who have migration-specific needs (many migrants have different or no vaccination programmes in their home country).
"Our aim is to offer these people the best possible personalised prophylactic vaccination support in a way that includes their underlying health condition and existing treatments," said Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt, Head of the Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine.
Pregnant women are recommended to have influenza and whooping cough vaccinations, which also provide effective immunoprotection for the newborn.
The special outpatient clinic at the MedUni Vienna will check which vaccine is the most effective and tolerated for each individual and also determine whether adequate vaccination protection is being built up.
"The one-to-one explanation of the risks and options of having various vaccination treatments is a time-consuming process and is often neglected in the everyday whirl of prescriptions and clinics. There are very few study results on vaccinations in these at-risk groups and there is a shortage of evidence-based vaccination recommendations for clinical practice," said Wiedermann-Schmidt.
Doctors can refer affected patients in at-risk situations to the clinic.
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At-risk groups include people with cancer, autoimmune diseases, immunosuppression or immune deficiencies, people who have had transplants, who are obese, pregnant women, people who have allergies or even people who have migration-specific needs (many migrants have different or no vaccination programmes in their home country).
"Our aim is to offer these people the best possible personalised prophylactic vaccination support in a way that includes their underlying health condition and existing treatments," said Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt, Head of the Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine.
Pregnant women are recommended to have influenza and whooping cough vaccinations, which also provide effective immunoprotection for the newborn.
The special outpatient clinic at the MedUni Vienna will check which vaccine is the most effective and tolerated for each individual and also determine whether adequate vaccination protection is being built up.
"The one-to-one explanation of the risks and options of having various vaccination treatments is a time-consuming process and is often neglected in the everyday whirl of prescriptions and clinics. There are very few study results on vaccinations in these at-risk groups and there is a shortage of evidence-based vaccination recommendations for clinical practice," said Wiedermann-Schmidt.
Doctors can refer affected patients in at-risk situations to the clinic.
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