key: cord-0762028-oh7b94ct
authors: John, Binu V.; Deng, Yangyang; Khakoo, Nidah S.; Taddei, Tamar H.; Kaplan, David E.; Dahman, Bassam
title: COVID-19 Vaccination Is Associated with Reduced SARS CoV2 Infection and Death in Liver Transplant Recipients
date: 2021-11-07
journal: Gastroenterology
DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2021.11.001
sha: 564d00f43da6d384485c7db881a10eeef84b7a6b
doc_id: 762028
cord_uid: oh7b94ct

nan

Immunocompromised patients, including those who received an organ transplant, were excluded from COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. 1, 2 Transplant patients are at high risk of severe disease 3 but may not manifest adequate anti-spike antibodies responses after COVID-19 vaccination, raising concern for persisting risk. [4] [5] The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination for the prevention of COVID-19 and COVID-19 related death. Liver transplant recipients (>18 years) in active care from 12/15/2020 to 9/12/2021 were identified from the Veterans Outcomes and Costs Associated with Liver Disease (VOCAL) cohort using ICD codes. 6 Statistical significance was defined using 2-sided tests with α=0.05. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS 4.9 (SAS Inc, Cary NC). The study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards at all participating VA medical centers.

Of 1924 eligible liver transplant recipients, 1133 (58.9%) were fully vaccinated with two doses of an mRNA vaccine. Patients who were vaccinated were more likely to be male, white, have COPD, be hypertensive, have received a kidney transplant, receive a calcineurin inhibitor plus anti-metabolite, less likely to be active smokers and were fewer years after transplantation.

(Supplementary Table 1 

Safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine

Association of BNT162b2 mRNA and mRNA-1273

Vaccines With COVID-19 Infection and Hospitalization Among Patients With Cirrhosis

Outcomes following SARS-CoV-2 infection in liver transplant recipients: an international registry study

Antibody Response to 2-Dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Series in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

Immunogenicity of a Single Dose of SARS-CoV-2 Messenger RNA Vaccine in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

Male Gender is Associated with Higher Rates of Liver-Related Mortality in Primary Biliary Cholangitis and Cirrhosis

Ursodeoxycholic Acid Response Is Associated With Reduced Mortality in Primary Biliary Cholangitis With Compensated Cirrhosis

A 5-Year Prospective Multicenter Evaluation of Influenza Infection in Transplant Recipients