ASN's Mission

To create a world without kidney diseases, the ASN Alliance for Kidney Health elevates care by educating and informing, driving breakthroughs and innovation, and advocating for policies that create transformative changes in kidney medicine throughout the world.

learn more

Contact ASN

1401 H St, NW, Ste 900, Washington, DC 20005

email@asn-online.org

202-640-4660

The Latest on X

Kidney Week

Please note that you are viewing an archived section from 2021 and some content may be unavailable. To unlock all content for 2021, please visit the archives.

Abstract: PO0129

Real-World Effectiveness and Immunogenicity of BNT162b2 in Dialysis Patients

Session Information

Category: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

  • 000 Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Authors

  • Sibbel, Scott, Davita Clinical Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
  • Mckeon, Katherine L., Davita Clinical Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
  • Luo, Jiacong, Davita Clinical Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
  • Wendt, Karl, Davita Clinical Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
  • Walker, Adam G., Davita Clinical Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
  • Lazar, Rachael, DaVita Inc, Denver, Colorado, United States
  • Zywno, Meredith L., DaVita Inc, Denver, Colorado, United States
  • Connaire, Jeffrey J., Davita Clinical Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
  • Tentori, Francesca, Davita Clinical Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
  • Young, Amy, Davita Clinical Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
  • Brunelli, Steven M., Davita Clinical Research, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Background

BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech) is a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that received an emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration. Clinical trials in the general population demonstrated that BNT162b2 reduced risk of COVID-19 by 95%, however, dialysis patients were not represented in these trials. Here, we estimated the effectiveness and SARS-CoV-2 antibody response among real-world dialysis patients who were vaccinated with BNT162b2.

Methods

Patients included in this analysis were adults dialyzing at a large dialysis organization. For the effectiveness analysis, patients who began a BNT162b2 vaccination series (January-March 2021) were matched (with replacement) to up to 4 previously unvaccinated controls based on age, diabetes status, sex, race, body mass index, date of first vaccine, US state of residence, and prior known COVID-19 diagnosis. Vaccine effectiveness was estimated by calculating the hazard ratio (HR) for time to polymerase chain reaction confirmed infection between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients over 3 follow-up intervals: days 1-21, 22-42, and ≥43 after first dose of vaccine. Immunogenicity was measured in a subset of consented patients who completed the 2-dose BNT162b2 vaccination schedule. Blood samples were collected approximately 28 days after the second dose of BNT162b2, and indirect chemiluminescence immunoassays were used to measure immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Samples with a reading of >1 arbitrary unit (AU) were considered IgG+.

Results

We identified 12,169 patients who received BNT162b2 and were matched to 44,377 unvaccinated controls. The HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were 0.84 (0.68, 1.03), 0.61 (0.40, 0.93), and 0.21 (0.13, 0.35) during 1-21, 22-42, and ≥43 days postvaccination, respectively. Among the 344 patients with postvaccination antibody measurements, 98.0% (95% CI: 95.2%-99.2%) were IgG+ (median: 63.3 AU of IgG).

Conclusion

Our results indicate that BNT162b2 is effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in dialysis patients. Moreover, antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were detected in nearly all patients vaccinated with BNT162b2 in whom antibodies were measured.