How much covid protection are transplant recipients really getting

My husband (a liver recipient) received the two dose Pfizer vaccine in late February. He was tested for antibodies last week with a negative result, making us unsure if he has any protection at all!

@snorris I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I really doubt your husband has any protection to the vaccine if he tested negative. That means his immune system didn’t react to the vaccination by making antibodies.
I’m a bone marrow transplant patient, still on a low dose of anti inflammatory meds and have only received one dose of Pfizer one month ago. I needed to be tested before proceeding with #2. Three days ago I had the antibody test run to see if I had a response at all to the first shot. I did and it was fairly high, however, I was told that it doesn’t necessarily translate into dependable protection until I get the second shot. And, we won’t know how long that will last.
So if your husband isn’t registering any antibodies at this time, from my experience with lab results, I’m sorry to say he probably has no immunity. Maybe double check with the physician who had the titer run for your husband. He/she might have more input for you.
It really is disappointing that some of us who want the vaccine and would greatly benefit from the protection aren’t able get the immune response we need because of our medications. So, we just remain vigilant with Masks On! I like to think of them as deflector shields. 😉.

@bosco17 The best way to check on your immune response after having both doses of your vaccine would be to get a SARS-CoV-2 Spike Ab, Semi-Quant, S Blood test to check for antibodies. I’m on a low dose of immunosuppressant and managed to get a decent score showing antibodies after one month with only one dose of Pfizer. I’ll be receiving my second dose tomorrow. So it shows that there can be some response even on anti inflammatory medications. But the only way you’ll know personally is to get a simple blood test.

@bosco17 @snorris and @loribmt
Immunity has two parts for immuno-compressed people (in my understanding). Getting the vaccine will likely offer some protection against the virus, however, likely not as high as in patients who are not immuno-compromised. So, the recommendations remains for transplant recipients to get vaccinated. Secondly, your susceptibility to the virus is further protected as the people around you and in your community are vaccinated - so called herd immunity.

I also point you to these discussions where transplant recipients are talking about the vaccine and immunity.
- To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the question. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/to-vaccinate-or-not-to-vaccinate-that-is-the-question/
- John Hopkins Webinar on transplant recipients and vaccines https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/john-hopkins-webinar-on-transplant-recipients-and-vaccines/

I recently asked the Transplant Team at Mayo Rochester if I should have the antibody test after my second dose of Pfizer. They checked with the Infectious Disease doctor and he said he did not recommend it at this time. It could show that I had no antibodies, but that isn’t the only factor in fighting the virus. There is also Tcell response and other factors that could help me out. So, I continue to be as careful as I was before the vaccine. Also read in a Johns Hopkins report that they’ve found that Transplant recipients are not at higher risk of mortality than those without a transplant. That was encouraging to me.

Molly, Thank you for sharing this information. I am going to Rochester for my annual evaluation later this spring, and that is one of the questions on my list.
Like you, I will continue to be as careful as I can be. For 12 years, I have taken every precaution seriously, and will continue to do so. My mantra, is, "It's what we (transplant recipients) do".

Again - Thank you for the encouraging words.

Thank you to everyone for your comments. It will be good to see the second piece of the John’s Hopkins study and hopefully some conclusions they make.

Most of us know the information in this news story on the Covid vaccine and antibody development in transplant patients. But I thought It might be an informative piece to send to friends and family. It’s well done and describes the current research as well as the potential impacts on our life’s.
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/05/993994531/covid-19-vaccines-might-not-work-as-well-for-those-with-organ-transplants

Thanks for posting this. I like the individual narratives from real people! Always important!
I know some of us have been waiting for the data from Johns Hopkins on the results of the second dose of the vaccine on antibody levels. I received this article from JAMA - Journal of American Medical Association - yesterday regarding those very results. I'm not sure if they will hold another webinar to present the results.
Here's the link. Please let me know if you have trouble opening it up. It is coming from a proprietary site.

Ellen

file:///Users/mac_owner/Downloads/jama_boyarsky_2021_ld_210032_1620162052.46476%20(1).pdf

Thank you! I couldn’t get the pdf link to work, but found this - https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2779852

Better news, but still not great. And, I’m on Mycophenolate, so curious about Mayo’s ongoing research as well.