Immunosuppressants and COVID vaccine - Kidney Transplant

Kidney Transplant

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Immunosuppressants and COVID vaccine

Rocknlily profile image
9 Replies

Which vaccine is best for the immunosuppressed and have a primary immunodeficiency? I can't find

any information on Novavax for the immunosuppressed. Does anyone know if the adjuvant it has is

okay for us to take? I have searched and searched and cant find anything about it. Thank you.

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Rocknlily profile image
Rocknlily
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YorkyinNorfolk profile image
YorkyinNorfolk

health.gov.au/our-work/covi...

YorkyinNorfolk profile image
YorkyinNorfolk in reply toYorkyinNorfolk

”Novavax is safe and effective for: People who are immunocompromised”

Best to speak to your transplant team about which vaccine is best for you. I’ve had a number of different types (6 in total) and they were all deemed safe in the UK.

Transplant2018 profile image
Transplant2018

Safety isn't so much the issue. The problem is that the immune systems of people who are immunosuppressed, as we are, do not respond well to the vaccines so you can't assume you have protection.

YorkyinNorfolk profile image
YorkyinNorfolk in reply toTransplant2018

Agreed, I accept that we’re not as well protected but I’m still glad that I’d had the 3 vaccines that I had prior to contracting Covid in Dec 2021. It wasn’t pleasant but I managed to work through it from home. I didn’t qualify for any anti virals as my symptoms had existed for over 5 days when I tested positive. The doctor I spoke to suggested that the vaccines will have helped with my symptoms being manageable. Any measure of protection or reduction in severity has to be a good thing.

Research shows the jab has poor uptake under immunosuppression. Recent research out of Japan and other countries is also showing that jabs given post transplant may lead to transplant failure. I strongly recommend you do some deep research.

LisaSnow profile image
LisaSnow in reply to

Can you share references of peer reviewed literature that support your statement that "jabs given post transplant may lead to transplant failure"?

in reply toLisaSnow

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/346...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/349...

You can do a pubmed search for additional information.

LisaSnow profile image
LisaSnow in reply to

Thank you for sharing your results. I can understand better now why you see rejection as a real risk.When I do literature search and review (as in conducting a review for the journal, not for "my own research") I pay attention to a few universal standards: sample size utilized, appropriateness of the study design, uniformity of the methods used for comparison purpose when hypothesized risk is being tested and assessed, to name a few. If the objectivity of the paper is to evaluate the risk of an exposure, it is the "relative" risk that matters. For example, if 5% of all people in a senior facility die in December every year and all 5% of them die after getting a vaccine when the other 95% didn't, then yes, vaccine is very likely the contributing factor (not necessarily the "cause", still). However, if all (100%) people got vaccinated and 5% died in December just like the year when vaccine was not given, then vaccine is probably not related to the 5% dying.

I only have time to read the Abstracts of the three articles you shared. One is not a solid organ transplant population and only has 4 cases, 1 has just 1 case, and the meta analysis authored in Saudi Arabia, provided NO relative risk and grouped "vaccinated" and "getting Covid Infection" together as risk factors for "rejection". We all know the two are very different. More importantly we know transplanted organ rejections happen all the time. They appear to not be able to account for the "base risk rate" from the material they used to comduct and write their paper. Note I am not criticizing their paper because these are the limitations associated with reading existing work and reanalyzing them (meta analysis). As a reader who interpretates their results for your own action, it is however important to keep in mind.

A majority, if not all, healthcare professional and scientists all have consensus that immunosuppressed patients should be getting the vaccines for added protection (because they lack a normal level of protection to begin with). Yes, the vaccine may not work "as well" in immunosuppressed groups but they do increase protection against the viruses (because we know that antibodies is not the only mechanism that our immunity fights a viral invasion). Please be careful and not mistakenly communicate opinions as "scientific facts" because it can end up leading others into harm.

littlelinda50 profile image
littlelinda50

This is my opinion don't get any vaccines that are live vaccine. As far as the covid vaccine do what you are comfortable with. I myself finally got 2 shots because I could finish my externship without it. I won't keep getting as many covid shots as recommended because I think that is ridiculous and unsafe. I am very careful about what medications I take and I have been given a website to see if my transplant meds with have a reaction with what ever med I want or need to take. I hope this helps a little.

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