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Organ Transplant Recipients Vulnerable To COVID-19 Even After Vaccination: Study

According to researchers, transplant recipients should not assume that two vaccine doses guarantee sufficient immunity against SARS-CoV-2 any more than it did after just one dose

Organ Transplant Recipients Vulnerable To COVID-19 Even After Vaccination: Study
Highlights
  • Transplant recipients must continue to practice COVID safety norms: Study
  • Transplant recipients may not develop stronger immune response: Study
  • The study analysed 658 participants who received organ transplant

New Delhi: Although two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine confer some protection for people who have received solid organ transplants, it’s still not enough to enable them to dispense with masks, physical distancing and other safety measures, according to a study. This is a follow-up study to an earlier one in which the researchers reported that only 17 per cent of the participating transplant recipients produced sufficient antibodies after just one dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine regimen.

Also Read: COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery By Age May Mitigate Deaths And Severe Health Impacts: Study

Study lead author Brian Boyarsky from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US said,

While there was an increase in those with detectable antibodies after the second shot, the number of transplant recipients in our second study whose antibody levels reached high enough levels to ward off infection was still well below than in people with healthy immune systems. Based on our findings, we recommend that transplant recipients and other immunocompromised patients continue to practice strict COVID-19 safety precautions, even after vaccination.

The researchers noted that people who receive solid organ transplants, such as hearts, lungs and kidneys, often must take drugs to suppress their immune systems and prevent rejection. Such regimens may interfere with a transplant recipient’s ability to make antibodies to foreign substances, including the protective ones produced in response to vaccines, they said.

The latest study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), evaluated this immunogenic response following the second dose of either of the two mRNA vaccines — made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech — for 658 transplant recipients, none of whom had a prior diagnosis of COVID-19.

Also Read: Russia’s Single-Dose Sputnik Light Vaccine Has 79.4 Per Cent Efficacy, Effective Against All New Coronavirus Strains: Russian Direct Investment Fund

The participants completed their two-dose regimen between December 16, 2020, and March 13, 2021. The researchers found that only 98 of the 658 study participants — 15 per cent — had detectable antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 at 21 days after the first vaccine dose.

This was comparable to the 17 per cent reported in the March study looking at immune response after only one vaccine dose. At 29 days following the second dose, the number of participants with detectable antibodies rose to 357 out of 658 — 54 per cent, the researchers said.

After both vaccine doses were administered, 301 out of 658 participants — 46 per cent — had no detectable antibody at all while 259 — 39 per cent — only produced antibodies after the second shot, they said. The researchers also found that among the participants, the most likely to develop an antibody response were younger, did not take immunosuppressive regimens including anti-metabolite drugs and received the Moderna vaccine. These were similar to the associations seen in the March single-dose study, they said.

Given these observations, transplant recipients should not assume that two vaccine doses guarantee sufficient immunity against SARS-CoV-2 any more than it did after just one dose, said study co-author Dorry Segev, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Also Read: One In Four People Experience Mild Side Effects From Covishield COVID-19 Vaccine: Lancet Study

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (WaterSanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollutionwaste managementplastic banmanual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene

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