Under-Immunization of Pediatric Transplant Recipients: A Call to Action for the Pediatric Community

Vaccine-preventable infections (VPIs) are a common and serious complication following transplantation. One in six pediatric solid organ transplant recipients is hospitalized with a VPI in the first five years following transplant and these hospitalizations result in significant morbidity, mortality, graft injury and cost. Immunizations are a minimally-invasive, cost-effective approach to reducing the incidence of VPIs. Despite published recommendations for transplant candidates to receive all age-appropriate immunizations, under-immunization remains a significant problem, with the majority of transplant recipients not up-to-date on age-appropriate immunizations at the time of transplant. This is extremely concerning as the rate for non-medical vaccine exemptions in the United States (US) is increasing, decreasing the reliability of herd immunity to protect patients undergoing transplant from VPIs. There is an urgent need to better understand barriers to vaccinating this population of high-risk children and to develop effective interventions to overcome these barriers and improve immunization rates. Strengthened national policies requiring complete age-appropriate immunization for non-emergent transplant candidates, along with improved multi-disciplinary immunization practices and tools to facilitate and ensure complete immunization delivery to this high-risk population, are needed to ensure that we do everything possible to prevent infectious complications in pediatric transplant recipients.