Covid-19 vaccine might not work well for immunocompromised Americans

Millions of Americans are taking immunosuppressive drugs that might weaken the effect of the Covid-19 vaccine, and many are scared their vaccines might not have worked.

 

If their vaccinations did not work, they rely on the rest of the population to for their protection.

 

"Even if you think you don't need to, think about this as a donation of your own goodwill to those who are more vulnerable," said National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins. "That's the best hope they have."

 

Experts estimate about 6 million Americans are taking immunosuppressants that could interfere with the vaccine’s effects.

 

When pharmaceutical companies tested the Covid-19 vaccines in clinical trials last year, they specifically excluded people who were taking immunosuppressive drugs, leaving these patients in a spot of not knowing if they were protected.

 

Some studies have found the vaccines do work in people with compromised immune systems, but other studies have not been so promising.

 

One study of more than 650 organ recipients taking immunosuppressants found that 46% had no antibody response after two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.

 

Another study looked at patients with conditions such as lupus, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease, and found that two types of drugs they were taking -- glucocorticoids and B-cell depleting agents -- "substantially" impaired the ability of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

 

The NIH is setting out to determine what approaches might work best if the vaccine is failing people who are immune-compromised, and will begin recruiting kidney transplant patients this summer for a trial.