Hi Austin/Jordan
I’m specifically interested in your views on the Covid vaccine for immuno-suppressed people, as that’s relevant to me due to my kidney transplant.
Here in the UK, the British Transplantation Society are advising transplant patients to take the vaccine, and they are at ease with it being either the RNA type (Pfizer or Moderna, now that the latter has also been authorised in the UK) or the adenovirus based Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. Their reasoning being that although there has been no testing on this sub-population, they don’t believe there to be indications of harm from getting it, whilst accepting the potential for/likelihood of a diminished efficacy, common with many vaccines in this sub-population.
I read, but don’t know the accuracy of this, that in the US transplant patients are being advised to hold off from having the vaccine for the time being. Is that true, and if so have they published their reasoning? (I guess it might simply be the flip side of the above, that currently it’s an unknown for these patients) I know you guys only currently have the RNA vaccines approved for use, which may or may not have an impact on that decision.
For the avoidance of doubt, I’m in favour of getting the vaccine if it isn’t advised against. All other things being equal*, I favour the Pfizer one, given its efficacy in the general population is 95% versus the Oxford efficacy being 62%, which is a substantial difference. Particularly if then ultimately receiving a reduced efficacy due to my condition, then it is quite a gap for the Oxford one to make up to be as effective.
*The problem being that things definitely are not equal, for two reasons I can think of:
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The elephant in the room being that the UK government have decided to space out doses of the vaccine by 12 weeks rather than three weeks. Obviously this is completely untested and so we don’t know for certain how this will affect things. My understanding is that most doctors/scientists’ concern here relates to the length of immunity gained from the first dose as opposed to anything else, and whether that will extend to 12 weeks or not (as the studies already demonstrate efficacy in the days leading up to the 2nd dose of the Pfizer vaccine).
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My specific condition is IgA Nephropathy, and hence this is an auto-immune condition. Simply due to the new science involved in the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines, I guess this means it is difficult/impossible to know for sure whether they will react differently for people like that. I’ve never experienced anything like anaphylaxis, etc where they’re currently warning people to avoid taking this vaccine.
Just interested in your views in this area, if you’re okay to share. I probably have a month or so before I’m called for my first dose here, and also intend on discussing it with my consultant.