ABSTRACT
Purpose: The increased COVID-19 severity observed in kidney transplant recipients (KTR) has been widely reported. In addition, several studies have shown a reduced humoral and cellular response after mRNA vaccination in this population compared to hemodialysis patients. However, there is currently no information on real-life clinical protection (deaths and hospitalizations), a gap that this study aims to fill. Method(s): Observational prospective study. A total population of 1336 KTR and hemodialysis patients from three dialysis units affiliated to Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain, vaccinated with two doses of mRNA-1273 (Moderna) or BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines. The outcomes measured were SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed by a positive RT-PCR fourteen days after the second vaccine dose, hospital admissions derived from infection, and a severe COVID-19 composite outcome, defined as either ICU admission, invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, or death. Result(s): Six per cent (18/302) of patients on hemodialysis were infected, of whom four required hospital admission (1.3%), only one (0.3%) had severe COVID-19, and none of them died. In contrast, 4.3% (44/1034) of KTR were infected, and presented more hospital admissions (26 patients, 2.5%), severe COVID-19 (11 patients, 1.1%) or death (4 patients, 0.4%). There were no correlations on the multivariate analysis between measured outcomes and baseline characteristics nor immunosuppressive treatment. Conclusion(s): The study highlights the need for further booster doses in KTR. In contrast, the hemodialysis population appears to have an adequate clinical response to vaccination, at least up to four months from its administration.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Seroconversion after a 2 doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in kidney transplant recipients (KTR) ranges between 30 and 50% in different series. We previously demonstrated that a substantial proportion of KTRs (35%) without a humoral response, develops a cellular response after the second dose assessed by the ELISpot technique. We aim to study the evolution of both humoral and cellular response in the same cohort before and 1 month after the administration of the third dose of mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine. Method(s): We included in the final analysis KTRs without evidence of previous exposure to COVID-19 and who were not infected during the course of the study and with complete data in all the time-points (n=105). The four time-points studied were at baseline before the first dose (T1), after the second dose (T2, 2 months) and before (T3, 6 months) and after (T4, 7 months) the administration of the third dose of 100mcg mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine. In all the time points, IgG and IgM titre against protein S assessed by Luminex technique and cellular immunity assessed by N- and S-protein specific ELISpot were studied. Result(s): The percentage of patients with a positive humoral or cellular immunity against the S-protein were 24.8% and 51.4% after the second dose (T2). This percentages changed to 54.3% and 48.6% at 6 months (T3), respectively for IgG and S-ELISpot, in the absence of proven COVID-19. After the administration of the 3rd dose (T4) these percentages increased to 75.2% for IgG and 61.0% of S-ELISpot respectively. At multivariate analysis, the only factor that was positively associated with IgG development at T4 was S-ELIspot positivity after the 2nd dose (T2) [OR(CI) 3.14[1.10-8.96], p=0.032). Factors negatively associated with seroconversion were being transplanted during the last year [OR(CI) 0.23[0.07-0.80], P=0.021] and previous transplantation [OR(CI) 0.22[0.06-0.78], P=0.020). Conclusion(s): After a 3 doses-course of mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine, three quarters of kidney transplant recipients developed finally IgG against protein S. Developing a cellular response after the second dose was positively associated with the final seroconversion, while being transplanted previously or being vaccinated during the first year after KT impacted negatively on the vaccine outcome.