Coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine in pediatric post-kidney transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and the resulting disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have spread to millions of persons worldwide. Many vaccines have been developed; however, their efficacy in pediatric solid organ transplant recipients is yet to be determined. METHODS: This is a prospective observational, non-interventional single-center study on the safety and efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2) in pediatric kidney transplant recipients. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate immunogenicity according to SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing antibody titer after two vaccine doses. The secondary aims were to investigate the safety of the vaccines, solicited local and systemic adverse reactions, incidence of COVID-19 post-vaccination, and effects on transplant graft function. Baseline investigations were conducted on pediatric renal transplant recipients, and recruited participants were advised to have the Comirnaty® mRNA vaccine according to protocol. RESULTS: A total of 48 patients (male, n = 31, 64.6%; female, n = 17, 35.4%), median age 14 [12-16] years were included, and all received two doses of the vaccine. The vaccine had a favorable safety and side-effect profile. The S-antibody titer of all patients ranged between .4 and 2,500 U/ml and was > 50 U/ml in 89% of the patients. No difference in the measured antibody immune response was noted between infected and uninfected children. No major side effects were reported. CONCLUSION: The vaccine had a favorable safety profile in 12- to 15-year-old kidney transplant recipients, producing a greater measured antibody response than that in older transplant recipients.

Mpox Perceptions and Vaccine Advocacy among the Healthcare Workers of Solid Organ Transplant Centers: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Survey in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: In response to the global Mpox outbreaks, this survey aimed to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and advocacy of Mpox vaccines among solid organ transplant healthcare workers (HCWs) in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among solid organ transplant HCWs in Saudi Arabia from 15 August to 5 September 2022. A total of 199 responses were received from participants primarily working in the kidney (54.8%) and liver (14.6%) transplant units. RESULTS: The survey found that most participants were aware of the 2022 Mpox outbreak, but the majority were more concerned about COVID-19 than Mpox. While the majority of participants thought laboratory personnel and HCWs in direct contact with Mpox patients should receive the vaccine, less than 60% believed that all HCWs should be vaccinated. Additionally, over half of the participants lacked knowledge of animal-human transmission of the virus. CONCLUSION: The results highlight the need for increased education on Mpox among transplant HCWs in Saudi Arabia, particularly regarding the virus's transmission dynamics and vaccines. This education is crucial to improve HCWs' understanding of this emerging disease, especially given their vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comparison of the safety and immunogenicity of the BNT-162b2 vaccine and the ChAdOx1 vaccine for solid organ transplant recipients: a prospective study.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and its resulting disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has spread to millions of people worldwide. Preliminary data from organ transplant recipients have shown reduced seroconversion rates after the administration of different SARS-CoV-2 vaccination platforms. However, it is unknown whether different vaccination platforms provide different levels of protection against SARS-CoV-2. To answer this question, we prospectively studied 431 kidney and liver transplant recipients (kidney: n = 230; liver: n = 201) who received either the ChAdOx1 vaccine (n = 148) or the BNT-162b2 vaccine (n = 283) and underwent an assessment of immunoglobulin M/immunoglobulin G spike antibody levels. The primary objective of the study is to directly compare the efficacy of two different vaccine platforms in solid organ transplant recipients by measuring of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against the RBD of the spike protein (anti-RBD) two weeks after first and second doses. Our secondary endpoints were solicited specific local or systemic adverse events within 7 days after the receipt of each dose of the vaccine. There was no difference in the primary outcome between the two vaccine platforms in patients who received two vaccine doses. Unresponsiveness was mainly linked to diabetes. The rate of response after the first dose among younger older patients was significantly larger; however, after the second dose this difference did not persist (p = 0.079). Side effects were similar to those that were observed during the pivotal trials.