About a third of Canadians, and about half of Canadian millennials, have tattoos.
The shoulder, a normal vaccination site, is also a popular place for getting ink, in part perhaps because the thicker skin there makes the tattooing process less uncomfortable.
This raises a practical question, especially at a time of year where lots of people are getting COVID and flu vaccinations: is it okay to receive a vaccination through a tattoo?
There's nothing wrong with it, provided people are getting vaccinated over a tattoo that is fully healed (which takes in the 30-day range), Finnish dermatologist Nicolas Kluger wrote in a 2021 journal article. He also recommended people not get a tattoo on a fresh vaccination site.
"To the best of our knowledge, no complication has been reported to date after vaccination within a tattoo," Kluger wrote. "Fears by some health-care providers are related to their own misconceptions about tattoos and tattoo-associated complications and possibly to a negative opinion about tattoos."
According to Health Canada guidelines, "There is no evidence or theoretical rationale for avoiding injection through a tattoo or superficial birthmark."
Toronto Public Health did not respond to a TorontoToday request for comment, other than to point to the Health Canada guidelines.
Kluger suggested patients receive their vaccinations on an arm that does not have a tattoo. If that isn't possible, vaccinations should be completed while avoiding the tattooed area, or in an an area of skin without pigment. If that still isn't possible, Kluger said it is likely fine to go ahead and vaccinate on the tattoo itself.
