COVID-19 vaccines being tested on low-immunity patients

LONDON: People with low immunity due to health conditions such as cancer are being recruited to a study to assess if COVID-19 vaccines will give them high protection.
Trials have shown that the inoculations have a very high success rate for most adults, including the very elderly, with antibody levels exceeding expectations. But there is little evidence on their efficacy in immunocompromised patients.
In a new study, up to 5,000 immunocompromised people from around Britain will be vaccinated, with blood tests before and after their inoculations to assess the change in protection against the virus. Some results are expected in a few months, with full conclusions delivered early next year.
“We urgently need to understand if patient populations with chronic conditions such as cancer, inflammatory arthritis and kidney and liver disease are likely to be well-protected by current COVID-19 vaccines,” said lead researcher Prof. Iain McInnes from the University of Glasgow.
“The study will give us invaluable new data to help us answer questions of this kind from our patients and their families.”
The British Society for Immunology said: “While COVID-19 vaccination might provide a lower level of protection in people who are immunosuppressed or immunocompromised compared with the rest of the population, it is still very important that you get vaccinated, as it will offer you a certain amount of protection.”
It added: “It is important that you receive two doses of the vaccine to maximize the protection that vaccination offers you.”