Indian Journal of Transplantation (Jan 2023)

Immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccination in kidney transplant recipients

  • V S Jibia,
  • Chelvamalai Muthukumaran,
  • Shivakumar Dakshinamoorthy,
  • Vaishanavi Devi Rajarathinam,
  • Guhan Senthilkumaran,
  • Premkumar Devaraju,
  • Vinoj Murugesan,
  • Venkatesh Arumugam,
  • Tanuj Moses Lamech,
  • Sakthirajan Ramanathan,
  • Srinivasaraman Govindarajan,
  • Natarajan Gopalakrishnan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/ijot.ijot_2_23
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17, no. 4
pp. 414 – 417

Abstract

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Context: Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) represent a high-risk population but were grossly underrepresented in COVID-19 vaccination trials. Aims: The aim was to study the immunogenicity of two COVID-19 vaccines (Covaxin and Covishield) among KTRs. Subjects and Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study among KTRs who consented to receive two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine – either Covaxin or Covishield. Patients who underwent kidney transplant during the previous 6 months or had received antirejection therapy during the previous 1 month were excluded from the study. Antibody titers to the spike protein of COVID-19 were measured at baseline and at 4 weeks after the second dose of the vaccine. Statistical Analysis: A univariate analysis was performed in the subgroup of patients who were seronegative at baseline, to identify factors that were associated with seroconversion. The Chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test was used to compare categorical variables, and the Mann–Whitney U-test was used to compare continuous variables. P 250 U/mL. Conclusions: Among KTRs who were seronegative at baseline, a seroconversion rate of 34.5% was demonstrated after two doses of Covaxin or Covishield.

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