John Hopkins Webinar on transplant recipients and vaccines

@benlam11, Do you live in a crowded area? Are you able to avoid crowds? Do you need to get out-and-about or can you stay at home?

I urge you to take a deep breath, and remember that WE with transplants know what we need to do for our safety. And we seriously try our best to do it every day. I have recently re-introduced a discussion (Living Life after your Transplant) where transplant members shared their tips for safe living in the pre-Covid world. I invite you to read thru some of the more recent entries, you can read and join others as they navigate the current world. And I invite you to share your questions and/or helpful practices that you are using.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/living-life-after-your-transplant/

@benlam11 - my apologies to you. I see that you have already commented in the discussion.

@benlam11 The Delta variant is in every state plus DC now. Of course the states where the vaccine rates are lower, primarily the southern states, will have the worst Covid rates. I feel fortunate to live in New England, all of our states have high vaccination rates along with NJ and Hawaii. Still, it is hard to know what to do. We are going away with our kids in a week, which concerns me because our son is flying in from Denver. I should wear a mask with my kids and stay 6' away from them per some guidelines. That's not going to happen. My daughter and her husband are extremely cautious so I have no concern with them.
JK

Interesting article about one of the JH study participants and about antibody response :
Here's Why This Doc Got a Third Vaccine Dose
— A transplant surgeon, a heart recipient himself, saw robust antibody response after third dose
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/92698

@benlam11 So you do have your third shot. I am so tempted. As my son said to me, it is MY health so I have a right to do what to me seems best for me. As I mentioned before though, what would that do to my standing with my transplant team? I have an excellent rapport with them now, they've been great. I don't want to ruin that.
JK

I also told my transplant team, however they had no opinion. My guess it that they are bound by CDC and FDA rules. It was just my opinion since JH is doing testing and the French health service approved it. I (on my own decision) just went for it. And since I had ZERO antibodies after my first 2 shots, I think the third shot is like the first shot for anyone else. I'm very tempted to take the 4th shot and then have an antibody test to discover just what my antibody level is. I know I'm flying solo, however I will do what I think is safest for me. The Delta+ variant in Las Vegas is worse than the first time around, with only 50% of the population having 1 shot.

THIS WSEEK
Next John Hopkins Webinar on COVID-19 Antibody Testing of Recipients of Solid Organ Transplants (IRB00248540) being led by the transplant team at Johns Hopkins.

1-hour live webinar on Thursday, July 8, 2021, at 1:00PM EDT to share our updated findings and answer questions.

Please register here: https://jhjhm.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Pr8grO9lSp2ojJM5mk8OXw

I registered for the Johns Hopkins webinar that is today but I somehow lost my confirmation with the way to get into the webinar. I assume the meeting will be recorded. Could someone post how to get to that recording? I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.
JK

I have had four shots already. two phizer and two Moderna. Still zero antibodies. I’m being advised to take a break from getting vaccinated until further examination of possible other combinations that may help us get the benefit from the shots. It seemed a little bit akin to beating my head against a brick wall. But, in this case, it might be justified to keep going. I’m going to give it a rest until something else material breaks. For context, I am a hand transplant, which apparently entails a slightly higher level of immunosuppression than other kinds of transplants, so maybe my findings don’t suggest other types transplant patients.

@jfk, I hope that you, and all of us, will continue to learn more as time passes. I also hope that we will all be patient enough and strong enough to continue protecting ourselves in the interim. During the webinar yesterday, they did say that some recipients are not showing antibodies after additional doses.

I had my liver and kidney transplant 12 years ago. I am retired, and able to choose uncrowded hours to run errands. What about you? How long ago did you have your transplant? Are you able to continue to be masked, and distanced from others to maintain your safety?