Extract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a multifaceted impact on the care and health of immunocompromised individuals, including solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients [1]. Lung transplant recipients are particularly vulnerable, with rates of severe disease, hospitalisation and death due to COVID-19 exceeding those of the immunocompetent population and other transplant groups [2]. However, the lung transplant group is heterogeneous and intersects with other populations at risk of severe disease, including the elderly, and those with intercurrent comorbid disease and other immunocompromising conditions [2]. Although SOT recipients were relatively underrepresented in early waves of the COVID-19 pandemic due to behaviour modification, physical distancing and masks, a growing number are now experiencing COVID-19 infection. Prevention of COVID-19 in this group is increasingly important. Given immunisation is a key component of COVID-19 prevention, there is a pressing need to better understand vaccine responses in lung transplant recipients.
Abstract
A more nuanced understanding of the immunological factors protecting lung transplant recipients from COVID-19 infection and severe disease are urgently required, including the roles for additional booster doses and immunosuppression modification https://bit.ly/3C8dOlq
Footnotes
Conflict of interest: D.W.J. Griffin has nothing to declare. J.H. McMahon has received funding from the Medical Research Future Foundation (MRF2014921) to conduct a trial of COVID-19 booster vaccination in immunocompromised hosts.
- Received September 2, 2022.
- Accepted September 16, 2022.
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