The hospital will investigate the effect of vaccines on kidney, lung transplantation and cancer patients. For this research, the hospital will receive a grant of 7.4 million euros from ZonMW, an organization for health research.
Immune system
The patients belong to the vulnerable groups for which the corona virus can be extra dangerous, writes the UMCG. In addition, the pandemic has a serious negative effect on the social life of vulnerable patients, because they have isolated themselves even more than others for fear of COVID-19. A properly working and safe vaccine is therefore very important for these vulnerable people. ‘
But available vaccines have mainly been tested on relatively healthy people. ‘Specific risk groups are not included in these studies, or only to a very limited extent’. As a result, there is insufficient knowledge about the immune response of the vaccine in patients with a less well-functioning immune system.
Three projects
The hospital is starting three research projects. In lung transplant patients, the researchers want to know about corona vaccines just as effective in people without a transplant.
A second research group looks at patients with kidney failure, dialysis patients and kidney transplant patients who use immunosuppressive drugs. They want to know how the body reacts to the vaccines and look for the efficacy and side effects.
A third study is being conducted in cancer patients. The researchers want to know whether people who receive chemotherapy or immunotherapy get the same immune response as people without cancer.
The results of the studies are expected in the course of the year.
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