Articles: sars-cov-2.
-
Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Sep 2021
Humoral response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination promises to improve the catastrophic prognosis of hemodialysis patients as a result of COVID-19. The COViNEPH Project.
Introduction: There is an urgent need to check the efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among hemodialysis patients who are known to have large abnormalities of acquired immunity and a catastrophic risk of death from COVID-19. Objectives: In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess the humoral response following vaccination with the BNT162b2 (BioNTech / Pfizer Comirnaty) vaccine. Patients and methods: We analyzed the titer magnitude of the IgG antibodies directed against SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen 14 to 21 days after the second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine in a group of hemodialysis patients who have not been confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 infection yet, compared with HD patients with a history of COVID-19. A total of 126 hemodialysis patients were stratified based on evidence of a previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 confirmed by the detection of viral RNA or nucleocapsid-specific IgG antibodies. Results: S-antigen immune response with a median (interquartile range) antibody titer of 366 (193–691) AU/ml was seen in 87 of 91 infection-naïve hemodialysis patients (95.6%), and in 68 (74.7%), a strong humoral response was observed with an anti-S antibodies titer greater than 200 AU/ml. ⋯ There were no significant differences in S-antibody titer between symptomatic and asymptomatic previously infected hemodialysis patients. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that the majority of hemodialysis patients achieved a high immunization rate after vaccination with BNT162b2. Whether this translates into protecting this population from COVID-19 requires further research.
-
Infection with SARS-CoV-2, responsible for COVID-19, has spread all over the world since the beginning of 2020. Healthcare providers and researchers have been overwhelmed not only by the rapid diffusion of the disease resulting in a pandemic with more than 4 million cases of death, but also by the lack of therapeutic options. After more than 1 year, the knowledge on COVID-19 has increased thanks to the enormous effort of the scientific community. ⋯ When low-flow oxygen fails to significantly improve oxygen saturation, oxygen therapy using a high-flow nasal cannula is recommended. The current challenges in the treatment of COVID-19 include the need to define the role of convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibodies as well as to identify the optimal target and time for anticoagulation. In this review, we highlight the main aspects of these challenges in light of recent updates.
-
As the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic evolves, new variants continue to emerge. Some highly transmissible variants, such as Delta, also raised concerns about the effectiveness provided by current vaccines. Understanding immunological correlates of protection and how laboratory findings correspond to clinical effectiveness is imperative to shape future vaccination strategies.