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Is a Third Vaccine Dose the Charm for Organ Transplant Recipients?
Only about half of people who have had an organ transplant responded to two doses of the mRNA Covid vaccine, but the numbers went up after a third dose.
One of the most overlooked groups in Covid-related guidelines is organ transplant recipients. When the CDC announced that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 could toss out their masks and begin rejoining normal life, the agency neglected to mention that this may not be safe for many of the 10 million-plus people in the US who are immune-compromised.
As I’ve written in depth at National Geographic, immune-compromised people are a hugely diverse group: some have immune systems impaired by a disease or other condition, others are impaired by medication to treat a condition, and yet others have both working against them. Some, such as those taking drugs called TNF (tumor necrosis factor) inhibitors, likely have as good a response to vaccines as people with properly functioning immune systems. Others, particularly those with certain blood cancers and those taking medications that target B cells (the body’s antibody factories), may have little or no response at all. Organ transplant recipients often fall in the latter category.
