CDC Talks of third COVID-19 Dose Approval

Initially, I was skeptical about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. I wasn’t what you’d call an anti-vaccinator, virus denying, government conspiracist. I was basing my decision on the fact that the COVID-19 vaccine would not likely work for someone like me.

As an immunosuppressed individual, there wasn’t promising news for vaccination efficacy for a person like myself. In fact, I wondered if venturing out into the world to receive the shot as a double lung transplant recipient was more potentially detrimental to my health than just staying self-quarantined?

Searching transplant forums for advice from other transplant patients, transplant doctors and other medical professionals, I wanted to know what information was out there. Such an important choice should be made after following the research, so that’s what I did.

According to the CDC, “COVID-19 vaccination works by teaching your immune system how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19” protecting you from getting sick and possibly spreading the virus to someone else. Because of this, non-immunosuppressed individuals could do more for those around them by getting vaccinated.

It is helpful for individuals within the general patient population to get vaccinated to help protect the immunosuppressed and transplant recipients. That will be even more effective than people like me receiving the vaccine alone. Family members, friends and other people who care about the welfare and well-being of others should get vaccinated to not only protect themselves but those in which they come into contact. You never know who could be immunocompromised.

According to a John Hopkins study in March 2021, only 17 percent of transplant recipients were reported to develop antibodies from the COVID-19 vaccine after their first dose. This was determined after transplant recipients received the most effective of the three vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna both over 90 percent effective for healthy individuals.

After receiving the second COVID-19 dose of Pfizer or Moderna, transplant recipients and other immunocompromised patients saw about a 50 percent efficacy. Johnson & Johnson was neither included in the study nor was it recommended to me personally as realistically adequate protection. I received two doses of the Pfizer vaccination.

The CDC held a meeting this week to announce a third shot of the current two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for individuals who are in need of it most. The FDA approved a third dose. The immunocompromised are at greater risk of harm or death from the Coronavirus even after being fully vaccinated.

As an organ transplant recipient, I take the anti-rejection medication mycophenolate also known as Cellcept twice daily. That medication is known to block the development of antibodies that protect you from Coronavirus. However, my lung specialist assured me there are other indicators of protection. With a third dose, there will be an even greater opportunity for a safeguard against this deadly respiratory virus.

The problem is, the meds I have to take to keep my new lungs healthy are actively working against the little protection the vaccine may provide. My body just won’t work as hard to fight off the virus if I contract it. News of a third dose to provide the immunocompromised with a fighting chance is both exciting and reassuring. Knowing that COVID-19 won’t have to be an automatic death sentence takes some of the fear away.

Since it was recommended by Brian Boyarsky, M.D., a surgery resident at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine that “based on [their] findings, [it is] recommend[ed] that transplant recipients and other immunocompromised patients continue to practice strict COVID-19 safety precautions, even after vaccination,” I have been following that sound advice and will continue to abide by it even after receiving the booster shot.

At this time, discussions are surrounding those who are in desperate need of additional protection. Stay tuned for further information about the potential benefit of healthy individuals receiving a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

If you’d like to see more from me, kindly give a coin of encouragement.

Resources:

FDA expected to authorize Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for some immunocompromised people within the next 48 hours

COVID-19 vaccines and transplant patients: Is vaccination safe?

Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine

Organ Transplant Recipients Remain Vulnerable to COVID-19 Even After Second Vaccine Dose

COVID-19 Story Tip: Covid-19 Vaccines May Not Produce Sufficient Antibody Response in Transplant Recipients

Not just antibodies: B cells and T cells mediate immunity to COVID-19