Vaccination lowers the risk of experiencing severe COVID-19 in dialysis patients

In an analysis of patients with kidney failure receiving dialysis who had become infected with SARS-CoV-2, those who were vaccinated had a lower risk of experiencing severe COVID-19. The findings, which are published in CJASN, re-iterate the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination in this patient population.

Various studies have shown that individuals on hemodialysis have impaired immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines, but few studies have described the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination in such patients.

To investigate, Debasish Banerjee, MD, FRCP (St. George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London) and his colleagues conducted a multi-center observational study of patients who were receiving hemodialysis in London and who were being regularly tested for COVID-19 during the period of vaccine roll-out with Pfizer-BioNtech's BNT162b2 and AstraZeneca's AZD1222.

SARS-CoV-2 infection was identified in 1,323 patients of different ethnicities (Asian/other 30%, Black 38%, and White 32%) including 1,047 (79%) unvaccinated, 86 (7%) post–first-dose, and 190 (14%) post–second-dose vaccination.

Among the major findings:

  • Most patients who tested positive had a mild course of COVID-19, but 515 (39%) were hospitalized and 172 (13%) died.
  • Older age, diabetes, and immune suppression were associated with greater illness severity.
  • After adjustments, prior two-dose vaccination was associated with a 75% lower risk of hospital admission and an 88% lower risk of death compared with no vaccination.
  • No loss of protection against COVID-19 was seen in patients older than 65 years, or with increasing time since vaccination, and no difference was seen between vaccine types.

COVID-19 continues to be common in patients on dialysis, causing hospital admissions and death, but fortunately it is milder with two doses of the vaccine."

Debasish Banerjee, MD, FRCP, NHS Foundation Trust, St. George's University Hospital

An accompanying editorial notes that the study's encouraging results prove the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines for patients on dialysis, but there is still much work to be done. "While the COVID-19 pandemic is ever changing, making vaccine studies challenging, it also provides new opportunities to examine vaccine effectiveness from many different angles," the authors wrote.

An accompanying Patient Voice article provides the perspective of Uwe K.H. Korst, who is a patient consultant and a co-chair of ERKNET, the European Rare Kidney Disease Reference Network.

Source:
Journal reference:

Ashby, D. R., et al. (2022) Severity of COVID-19 after Vaccination among Hemodialysis Patients. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. doi.org/10.2215/CJN.16621221

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
New study reveals long-term brainstem damage in COVID-19 survivors using advanced MRI scans