Impaired Humoral Response in Renal Transplant Recipients to SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination with BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech)
Johannes Korth,
Michael Jahn,
Oliver Dorsch,
Olympia Evdoxia Anastasiou,
Burkhard Sorge-Hädicke,
Ute Eisenberger,
Anja Gäckler,
Ulf Dittmer,
Oliver Witzke,
Benjamin Wilde,
Sebastian Dolff,
Andreas Kribben
Affiliations
Johannes Korth
Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147 Essen, Germany
Michael Jahn
Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147 Essen, Germany
Oliver Dorsch
KfH Kuratorium für Dialyse und Nierentransplantation e.V, KfH-Nierenzentrum Friesener Straße 37a, 96317 Kronach, Germany
Olympia Evdoxia Anastasiou
Institute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Virchowstr. 179, 45147 Essen, Germany
Burkhard Sorge-Hädicke
KfH Kuratorium für Dialyse und Nierentransplantation e.V, KfH-Nierenzentrum Alfried-Krupp-Str. 43, 45131 Essen, Germany
Ute Eisenberger
Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147 Essen, Germany
Anja Gäckler
Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147 Essen, Germany
Ulf Dittmer
Institute for Virology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Virchowstr. 179, 45147 Essen, Germany
Oliver Witzke
Department of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147 Essen, Germany
Benjamin Wilde
Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147 Essen, Germany
Sebastian Dolff
Department of Infectious Diseases, West German Centre of Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147 Essen, Germany
Andreas Kribben
Department of Nephrology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147 Essen, Germany
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has a major impact on transplant recipients, with mortality rates up to 20%. Therefore, the effect of established messenger RNA (mRNA)-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have to be evaluated for solid organ transplant patients (SOT) since they are known to have poor responses after vaccination. We investigated the SARS-CoV-2 immune response via SARS-CoV-2 IgG detection in 23 renal transplant recipients after two doses of the mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine BNT162b2 following the standard protocol. The antibody response was evaluated once with an anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG CLIA 15.8 +/− 3.0 days after the second dose. As a control, SARS-CoV-2 IgG was determined in 23 healthcare workers (HCW) and compared to the patient cohort. Only 5 of 23 (22%) renal transplant recipients were tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies after the second dose of vaccine. In contrast, all 23 (100%) HCWs were tested positive for antibodies after the second dose. Thus, the humoral response of renal transplant recipients after two doses of the mRNA-based vaccine BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech, Kronach, Germany) is impaired and significantly lower compared to healthy controls (22% vs. 100%; p = 0.0001). Individual vaccination strategies might be beneficial in these vulnerable patients.
