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COVID-19

Suboptimal Antibody Response to COVID-19 Vaccines in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Adult solid organ transplant recipients who received SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations displayed suboptimal antibody responses, favoring breakthrough infections. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Bologna, found that cell-mediated immunity (CMI) was not a strong predictor of breakthrough infections in this population. The researchers investigated the relationship between CMI and breakthrough infections in 139 adult SOT recipients, monitoring them for both antibody responses and CMI at 6 ± 2 months after receiving a booster dose of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found that 54.8% of patients displayed both antibody responses and CMI, while 28.8% showed only antibody responses, and 16.4% had neither antibody responses nor CMI.
  • The researchers concluded that cell-mediated immunity does not appear to be a strong predictor of breakthrough infections in solid organ transplant recipients.
  • The study investigated 139 adult SOT recipients, with 73 of them being analyzed for CMI and breakthrough infections.
  • The first two vaccine doses consisted of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 in 69.1% and 30.9% of cases, respectively.
  • mRNA-1273 was used as the third dose in 91.2% of patients.
  • The study found no significant differences between patients with positive vs. negative CMI (59.1% vs. 40.9%, p = 0.798) in terms of breakthrough infections.

Statistics:

  • 54.8% of patients displayed both antibody responses and CMI.
  • 28.8% of patients showed only antibody responses.
  • 16.4% of patients had neither antibody responses nor CMI.
  • 22 (30.1%) patients reported breakthrough infections with CMI.
  • 12 (16.4%) patients reported breakthrough infections without CMI.
  • 40 (54.8%) patients displayed both antibody responses and CMI.
  • 21 (28.8%) patients showed only antibody responses.

Sources:

  • Long-term immune response after SARS-CoV2 vaccination in solid organ transplant recipients. BMC Infectious Diseases, 2025,25(1):1-9.
  • NewsRx. Study Results from University of Bologna Broaden Understanding of COVID-19 (Long-term immune response after SARS-CoV2 vaccination in solid organ transplant recipients). Vaccine Weekly. May 14, 2025; p 430.

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