Viral post highlights vaccination requirements for organ transplants

A viral post claims that the Mayo Clinic rejected a lung transplant patient until they received COVID-19 vaccination. Although the original post criticized the policy, a majority of the responses questioned why anyone would trust doctors to transplant organs and provide lifelong post-transplant care but not to advise on pre-transplant care, including vaccinations. 

Recommendation: These types of posts may cause confusion about vaccine requirements for transplant patients. Messaging may emphasize that organ transplantation is a major medical procedure that leaves patients immunocompromised. This is why transplant patients are required to adhere to strict pre- and post-transplant medical instructions that increase the likelihood of a successful transplant. Routine immunizations, like COVID-19 and flu vaccines, are strongly recommended for transplant patients because they are extremely vulnerable to severe infections. When responding to questions about COVID-19 vaccine requirements for transplant patients, messaging may emphasize that some transplant centers may require patients to be vaccinated against COVID-19 because transplant patients are at increased risk of severe illness and death from a COVID-19 infection. Research shows that COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of severe illness in people who receive organ transplants.