April 25, 2024

Vaccines Are Less Effective at Protecting Against Severe COVID-19 in Immunocompromised Adults

Susceptible people should get a 3-dose vaccine series and a booster.
New real-world proof gathered by the U.S. Centers for Illness Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that COVID-19 vaccines are less reliable at safeguarding versus COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in individuals who are immunocompromised.

In basic, immunocompromised people are at an increased threat for serious COVID-19 outcomes.
” These findings show that while two-doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are advantageous in immunocompromised individuals, they are significantly less secured from serious disease than individuals with regular immune systems,” stated study lead author Peter Embí, M.D., M.S., Regenstrief Institute president and president and associate dean for informatics and health services research study at the Indiana University School of Medicine. “Since they are less protected after a two-dose series, those who are immunocompromised need to receive an additional dosage and a booster, take extra preventative measures like masking when in public, and, if they get contaminated, they ought to seek treatment with tested therapies that can protect against progression to serious disease and the need for hospitalization.”
The research team collected data from more than 89,000 hospitalizations across 9 states, making this the biggest research study of its kind examining COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness amongst immunocompromised people. Data analyses revealed that mRNA vaccines (produced by Pfizer and Moderna) were 90 percent effective at safeguarding against COVID-related hospitalization in immunocompetent individuals, whereas they were only 77 percent effective in those with reduced immunity due to a variety of health conditions.
The data came from the VISION Network, a partnership in between the CDC and 7 companies with integrated medical, laboratory, and vaccination records. The network was developed to examine the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. In addition to Regenstrief Institute, other members are Columbia University Irving Medical Center, HealthPartners, Intermountain Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, and University of Colorado.
The paper, “Effectiveness of Two-Dose Vaccination with mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Against COVID-19-Associated Hospitalizations Among Immunocompromised Adults– 9 states, January– September 2021,” is released in the CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Dr. Embí is the first author. Other authors from Regenstrief and IU are Shaun Grannis, M.D., M.S.; Brian Dixon, PhD, MPA; William F. Fadel, PhD and Nimish R. Valvi, DrPH.
Other authors on the paper are Matthew E. Levy, PhD, of Westat; Allison L. Naleway, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente Northwest; Palak Patel, MBBS, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Manjusha Gaglani, MBBS, of Texas A&M University; Karthik Natarajan, PhD, of Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital; Kristin Dascomb, M.D., PhD, of Intermountain Healthcare; Toan C. Ong, PhD, of University of Colorado; Nicola P. Klein, M.D., PhD, of Kaiser Permanente Northern California; I-Chia Liao, MPH, of Texas A&M University; Jungmi Han of Columbia University; Edward Stenehjem, M.D., of Intermountain Healthcare; Margaret M. Dunne, MSc, of Westat; Ned Lewis, MPH, of Kaiser Permanente Northern California; Stephanie A. Irving, MHS, of Kaiser Permanente Northwest; Suchitra Rao, MBBS, of University of Colorado; Charlene McEvoy, M.D., of HealthPartners Institute; Catherine H. Bozio, PhD, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Kempapura Murthy, MBBS, of Texas A&M University; Nancy Grisel, MPP, of Intermountain Healthcare; Duck-Hye Yang, PhD, of Westat; Kristin Goddard, MPH, of Kaiser Permanente Northern California; Anupam B. Kharbanda, M.D., of Childrens Minnesota; Sue Reynolds, PhD, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Chandni Raiyani, MPH, of Intermountain Healthcare; Julie Arndorfer, MPH, of Intermountain Healthcare; Elizabeth A. Rowley, DrPH, of Westate; Bruce Fireman, M.A., of Kaiser Permanente Northern California; Jill Ferdinands, PhD, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Sarah W. Ball, ScD, of Westat; Ousseny Zerbo, PhD. Of Kaiser Permanente Northern California; Eric P. Griggs, MPH, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Patrick K. Mitchell, ScD, of Westate; Rachael M. Porter, MPH, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Salome A. Kiduko, MPH, of Westat; Lenee Blanton, MPH, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Yan Zhuang, PhD of Westat; Andrea Steffens, MPH, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Sarah E. Reese, PhD, of Westat; Natalie Olson, MPH, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Jeremiah Williams, MPH, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Monica Dickerson, MPH, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Meredith McMorrow, M.D. of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Stephanie J. Schrag, DPhil, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Jennifer R. Verani, M.D. of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Alicia M. Fry, M.D. of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, M.D. of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team; Michelle A. Barron, M.D., of the University of Colorado; Mark G. Thompson, PhD, of the CDC COVID-19 Response Team and Malini B. DeSilva, M.D. of HealthPartners Institute.

The research study group gathered data from more than 89,000 hospitalizations throughout 9 states, making this the largest study of its kind examining COVID-19 vaccine efficiency amongst immunocompromised people. The data came from the VISION Network, a collaboration between the CDC and 7 companies with integrated medical, laboratory, and vaccination records. The network was developed to evaluate the efficiency of COVID-19 vaccines.