Most patients with kidney failure undergoing regular dialysis develop a substantial antibody response after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Investigators who assessed the humoral response following vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in 56 patients on maintenance hemodialysis and 95 healthcare workers without kidney failure (control group) found that all individuals in the control group and 96% in the dialysis group developed an antibody response. In the dialysis group, the immunoglobulin (Ig)G levels (median, 2,900) were significantly lower than in the control group (median, 7,401). In both groups, there was a significant inverse correlation between age and IgG levels. The odds of being in the lower quartile of IgG levels were significantly higher for older individuals (odds ratio [OR], 1.11 per year of age) and for the dialysis group versus the control group (OR, 2.7). Among dialysis patients, older age (OR, 1.22 per 1 year older) and lower lymphocyte count (OR, 0.83 per 10- e3/µl-higher lymphocyte count) were associated with antibody response in the lower quartile.
