PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Studies have shown organ transplant recipients might not get as much protection from COVID-19 vaccines as others, but medical experts still want them to get vaccinated.
Transplant recipients must take medication to prevent their immune systems from attacking the new organ. People take these drugs for all kinds of things, including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. The immunosuppression may also diminish the bodily response that makes vaccines work.
Dr. Emily Blumberg, the director of transplant infectious diseases at the University of Pennsylvania, says the typical test to measure vaccine response is an antibody test, but she says that doesn’t really give a complete picture.
"We don’t think the antibody response provides enough information to tell us what an individual's level of protection is," Blumberg said.
A Penn clinical study found a wide range of antibody responses, but she said that’s just one piece of the immune system puzzle.
"The immune system is very complicated. Our body uses a lot of different pieces to protect us against infections."
She says there are other, more complicated, tests that can be done, but she says, while they need more information, it looks like any protection is better than none.
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"Even a limited response may still protect people from having really severe infection or dying," she said.
"The more people who are vaccinated, the faster we can all return to the lives we once led."
So the recommendation for transplant recipients is to encourage close contacts and family members to get vaccinated and to take as many precautions possible.
Angel Fox says that's nothing new.
She gave one of her kidneys to her husband Bert. He has lived for decades with a transplanted liver. He got the vaccine, but the couple are still taking precautions.
"You know what, this is the way we live all the time. We don’t touch elevator buttons. We don’t hit handrails going up an escalator," she said.
"We don’t go to church the whole flu season in winter. Our priest will say to us, Where the heck you been?"
Angel says she hopes as many people as possible get the vaccine to get to herd immunity. She says she wants to see 75% of the population vaccinated, even though the CDC and the Pennsylvania Department of Health have set the goal at 70%.
"I’ve always been a little greedy," she said, "but once that’s reached, Bert can walk outside without a mask."