Study Finds Organ Transplant Recipients Undervacci

Study Finds Organ Transplant Recipients Undervaccinated

A recent study has revealed that organ transplant patients of lower socioeconomic status are likely to be unvaccinated against pneumococcus and influenza. The study also found that area of residence affected whether or not solid organ transplant patients were suitably vaccinated against these two diseases.

It is extremely crucial that patients who are set to receive solid organs be adequately vaccinated against Streptococcus pneumonia and influenza because these patients are immunosuppressed. Since they are on immunosuppressants, solid organ transplant patients may find it hard to fight off even simple infections such as the common cold. These patients are more likely to get sick from something an otherwise healthy person can fight off; in addition, they tend to be sicker for longer with more severe consequences. As a result, leading experts recommend annual influenza vaccines for solid organ transplant candidates and recipients to improve survivability rates.

This study sought to understand the factors that affected vaccination rates against respiratory infections, such as influenza. The researchers analyzed data from the Minnesota Immunization Information Connection to determine the socioeconomic factors associated with pneumococcal and influenza vaccination among solid organ transplant patients aged 19 to 64 years old.

The data leveraged in the study was collected from several health centers located in western Wisconsin and southern Minnesota, including Olmstead County Public Health Services, Mayo Clinic Health System, and Zumbro Valley Health Center. The study pool was predominantly White (83%) with 57% men and a median age of 50 years. In addition, 79% of the participants had a kidney transplant while just 7% had received a lung transplant. Another 85% of the participants had received at least one dose of the influenza vaccine while 74% had received two or more influenza vaccines.

There was an average vaccination rate of 56% over a 10-year period for the influenza vaccine with the median time study participants spent undervaccinated being 26 (12 to 53) months. In addition, and perhaps unsurprisingly, patients living in urban areas had a higher likelihood of receiving the influenza vaccine compared to those living in suburban and rural areas. The study also reported that 81.8% of solid organ transplant patients had received at least one vaccine and only 68.1% of patients who had been vaccinated at least once were up to date on their pneumococcal vaccines.

Furthermore, the researchers found that heart transplant patients were less likely to fully be vaccinated compared to kidney transplant patients.

According to the researchers, solid organ transplant patients in southeastern Minnesota were generally undervaccinated. They added that patients with lower SES who lived outside urban areas were especially at risk of being undervaccinated for pneumococcal diseases and influenza.

The study’s findings were reported in the “Transplant Infectious Disease” journal.

The challenges that organ transplant recipients face are immense, and entities such as Aditxt Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTX) are conducting R&D programs aimed at developing interventions to reduce rates of organ rejection or the complications thereof.

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