Study: Third COVID vaccine ups response in organ recipients

Organ transplant recipients who did not achieve satisfactory immunity from two doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shot appeared to benefit from a third dose, according to a letter published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The University of Health Network researchers enrolled 120 organ transplant patients who had no history of COVID-19 infection, and who had suboptimal results from their two doses of Moderna vaccine. Two months after their second dose, half received another Moderna vaccine, while the remainder received a placebo. The resulting 2-month follow-up showed that patients who received a third dose had a higher likelihood of achieving satisfactory antibody levels against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as well as higher neutralizing antibody levels. 'Although some may infer from these data that solid-organ transplant recipients should routinely receive a third vaccine dose, additional randomized trials will be key to learning how to better care for solid-organ transplant recipients during this pandemic,' Winifred W. Williams, MD, and Julie R. Ingelfinger, MD, write in a related commentary.