hello everyone welcome back to my channel Eye Channel by Eye Surgeon this is Dr Audrey Tai
LASIK and cataract surgeon ophthalmologist and cornea specialist in today's video i would like
to talk to you about the types of eye diseases and conditions that may need to take precautions
when getting the coven 19 vaccine if you find this video helpful please hit the like button
and subscribe to my channel to help me bring you more videos about eye health and eye surgery to
learn more about my practice you can follow me on facebook and linkedin at Dr Audrey Tai
as i mentioned in my previous video of my covid 19 vaccine experience you may develop
mild physical symptoms such as fevers chills and muscle aches after receiving the coven-19 vaccine
due to the activation of our immune system that generates antibodies against the source cova2
virus this process is called reactogenicity in order to successfully generate antibodies
against sars-cov2 virus our body has to activate our immune system as a response to the vaccine
and subsequently generate effective antibodies to protect us from getting very sick when exposed to
the virus in the future those symptoms we may get after receiving the vaccine are expected as there
are a sign of an effective response to the vaccine one potential concern to this is that people who
have certain eye diseases or have had certain eye surgeries that are susceptible to increased eye
inflammation due to activation of the immune system need to take precautions and discuss
with the eye doctor right away if they notice any vision changes or changes in their eye condition
one of those eye conditions is any history of cornea transplant
there are different types of cornea transplants done for different types of eye diseases
either full thickness or partial thickness cornea transplant
one of the risks of cornea transplant is rejection of the transplant that can occur at any time after
the surgery typical point of transplant rejection symptoms are vision changes light sensitivity eye
redness or pain since the mechanism of cornea transplant rejection is through
increased inflammation in the eye any significant increase of systemic inflammation through
activation of the immune system can potentially trigger a cornea transplant rejection episode
therefore people with a history of cornea transplant need to pay close attention to
any changes in their vision eye pain or light sensitivity after receiving the covid 19 vaccine
and discuss with their eye doctors about necessary steps to take before vaccination to
prevent potential corneal transplant rejection episodes after receiving the covid 19 vaccine
as a cornea transplant surgeon my colleagues and i have seen some cases of cornea transplant
rejection after the covid 19 vaccination all of those cases were successfully treated
when the rejection episodes were identified and diagnosed in a timely fashion
it is important to remember studies in the past have not shown increased
cornea transplant rejection with any kind of vaccination however what we're seeing now
is that there seems to be an increased numbers of case reports of cornea transplant patients
developing cornea transplant rejection after the covid 19 vaccination could this be a coincidence
or is there causal relationship between the two events the answer is that we do not know yet there
have not been any studies to date which establish a causal relationship between covid 19 vaccination
and cornea transplant rejection and it will know more as more data becomes available
there will be more studies coming out to report and analyze those cases and to guide eye surgeons
and eye doctors to identify and treat eye conditions related to covenanting vaccination
as we learn more for our clinical experience is important for us to know is that if you
have any history of cornea transplant you should be in contact with your eye doctor and be aware
of the symptoms of cornea transplant rejection such as vision changes eye pain eye redness
and light sensitivity let your eye doctor know right away if you notice any of those symptoms
it is also important to remember that concerns about potential coronary
transplant rejection episodes is not a reason not to get a covid 19 vaccine
as studies have shown that fda-approved coven-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing
hospitalization or death from severe covid 19 disease and the transmission of the disease
this video is to increase awareness that people with certain eye conditions
such as cornea transplant should follow up with their eye doctor closely monitor for any changes
in their eye conditions after receiving the vaccine and to detect potential problems early and
start treatment accordingly other eye conditions that may flare up after receiving the vaccine
include herpetic eye disease and uveitis which can flare up due to increased systemic inflammation
another important thing to remember is that covid19 vaccine is effective at protecting
our community as a whole by building herd immunity against the sars cov2 virus if you
have any history of a corner transplant or a history of eye inflammation in the past
it is important to follow up with your eye doctor before and after receiving the vaccine
and especially if you notice any vision changes or any other changes in your eye health
i hope you find this video helpful in learning more about eye diseases
and covid 19 vaccine please consider liking and sharing this video and subscribe to my
channel to help me bring you more videos about eye health and eye surgery to learn
more about my practice you can follow me on facebook and linkedin at Dr Audrey Tai
thank you very much again for watching and i look forward to seeing you in my next video