Three doses of COVID-19 vaccine important for patients undergoing solid organ transplants – Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine

Patients undergoing solid organ transplants are at increased risk of developing a severe COVID-19 infection because they need to take immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs, aimed at preventing the body of such patients from rejecting transplanted organs, have the unintended consequence of making the immune system more open to the virus that causes COVID-19. ..

A new multicenter study involving researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Vanderbild University Medical Center has identified strategies to mitigate that risk. The study, published online in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed that transplant recipients who received three doses of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine were more protective than those who received two doses. (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are mRNAs.)

Currently, three doses are widely adopted for such patients. As evidence of the benefits of additional vaccination increases, the CDC currently recommends a fourth dose of mRNA vaccine for people with moderate to severe immunodeficiency, including patients who have undergone solid organ transplants.

“In our study, double doses of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine do not provide much protection against hospitalization of solid organ transplant recipients compared to healthy immune system recipients. Has been confirmed. ” Jenny H. Kwon, DO, One of the first co-authors of the study and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington. “But the good news is that additional vaccination seems to significantly increase the effectiveness of solid organ transplant recipients.”

The study investigated 10,425 patients admitted to 21 hospitals in the United States. Of these, 440 received solid organ transplants, 1,684 were immunocompromised and 8,301 had a healthy immune system.

Researchers have found that a two-dose regimen of the mRNA vaccine is 29% effective in preventing COVID-19 hospitalization in transplant patients, whereas a three-dose regimen is 77% effective. ..

“The results of this study show that solid organ transplant recipients benefited from three mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and upheld the CDC’s recommendations for this vulnerable population,” said Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Kwon, a medical epidemiologist, said. ..

“These results indicate that solid organ transplant recipients are at risk of COVID-19 despite vaccination, and ongoing efforts to mitigate the risk of COVID in this population. We support the need, “said Wesley Self, MD, one of the senior researchers in the study. Co-author of Vanderbild University and associate professor of emergency medicine.

“Through the COVID-19 pandemic, there was concern that immunocompromised people, such as those who received solid organ transplants, may not benefit from vaccination as much as those with immune abilities,” Self said. I am saying. “But our study shows that doses of booster vaccines are especially important for immunosuppressed people.”

The study also reduced the risk of COVID-19 in solid organ transplant recipients, including close contact vaccination, individual immune system monitoring, and infection prevention strategies such as wearing masks in public spaces and social distance. Point out other measures to do.

Future studies will examine the efficacy of the recommended fourth dose. Severe residual risk of COVID-19 in solid organ transplant recipients after 4 doses. And the durability of protection.

This study was created in 2019 to study the epidemiology of serious illnesses caused by viral respiratory infections and the effectiveness of vaccines in the prevention of these illnesses. IVY (Acute Disease Influenza and Others) Virus) is part of the research network. The CDC-funded and Vanderbild-led network consists of 21 US hospitals.