Immunogenicity and Short-term Clinical Outcomes Following Two Doses of the Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV Vaccine in Kidney Transplant Recipients: A Prospective Single-Center Cohort Study

Abstract

Background: The seroconversion rate is lower in response to COVID-19 vaccination in immunocompromised patients.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the humoral immune response and short-term clinical outcomes in kidney transplant recipients vaccinated with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (BBIBP-CorV; Sinopharm).

Methods: This prospective cohort was conducted from May to December 2021 in Abu Ali Sina Hospital, Iran. All kidney transplant recipients older than 18 received two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine four weeks apart. Immunogenicity was assessed by evaluating antibodies against the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 after the first and second vaccine doses. Patients were followed up for six months after vaccination.

Results: Out of 665 kidney transplant patients, 76 patients (11.43%) and 182 patients (27.37%) had acceptable anti-S-RBD immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels after the first and second doses. Forty-six patients (6.91%) were infected with COVID-19, which led to the hospitalization of 34 (5.11%) of them. No deaths were recorded during the follow-up period. An increase in serum creatinine was detected in 86 (12.93%) studied patients. The predominant adverse reactions reported in patients were fatigue, headache, and injection site pain.

Conclusion: Our findings showed that the humoral response rate of kidney transplant recipients to the Sinopharm vaccine is relatively low, and receiving the third dose of the vaccine seems reasonable to a large extent. Also, the care of the COVID-19 disease in people who are in the first year after receiving a kidney transplant should be more accurate and intensive.