Current Affairs

Issue

Scientists are studying how COVID-19 vaccines will protect organ transplant recipients and what precautions people on immuno-suppressants should take.

 

Background

Currently, large number of population have undergone organs transplant and have a weakened immune system owing to medicine.

 

Details

• Organ transplant recipients take strong immune-suppressing drugs to prevent organ from getting rejected by the body, which also increases their risk from the coronavirus.

• This feature had prevented them from being part of vaccine study. Because of this, there is not enough evidence of effects of vaccine on transplant patients.

 

Study

• Researchers studied people who obtained new organs in transplant in recent years and were getting the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

• Few days after the first dose, about 17% of the organ transplant recipients developed antibodies against the disease.

• Patients whose medications include a drug called an anti-metabolite were less likely to respond to the vaccine than those who don’t require that kind of drug

• Researchers suggest that transplant recipients do not relax after taking the shot but undergo blood test to determine immunity.