Infection Control News

A study of patients with end-stage kidney disease and COVID-19 revealed those who were from historically underrepresented groups had more than double the mortality rate of their white counterparts.

Although survey results from January 2021 showed 85% of patients on dialysis were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, a speaker said work is still needed to increase the vaccination rate, with physicians playing an essential role.

A speaker at the virtual Innovations in Dialysis: Expediting Advances Symposium discussed the high incidence of AKI among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and speculated on why these rates differ across studies.

Fully vaccinated transplant recipients see an almost 80% reduction in COVID-19 incidents compared with transplant recipients who are not fully vaccinated, according to a study published in Transplant Infectious Disease.

Patients on hemodialysis who survived infection with SARS-CoV-2 developed and maintained antibodies that led to a reduced likelihood of reinfection compared with patients who were not previously infected.

The FDA authorized a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for certain immunocompromised patients but continued to say that other fully vaccinated people do not need a booster.

After conducting a systematic review of studies evaluating how patients with kidney disease respond to COVID-19 vaccines, investigators determined further research addressing specific limitations is required.

Patients who are immunocompromised may soon be eligible to receive a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

A phase 2 trial sponsored and funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will assess the antibody response of a third dose of COVID-19 messenger RNA vaccine in kidney transplant recipients.

After finding that patients who received dialysis in-center had higher rates of COVID-19, researchers advocated for “a major shift” to home-based care as a means to reduce the risk for transmission of future infectious diseases.