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COVID-19 Vaccines May Be Significantly Less Effective in People With Severe Obesity:
New research suggests that adults (aged 18 or older) with severe obesity generate a significantly weaker immune response to vaccination compared to those with normal weight. The study was conducted by Professor Volkan Demirhan Yumuk from Istanbul University in Turkey and colleagues and was presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Maastricht, Netherlands (May 4-7).
The study also found that people with severe obesity (BMI of more than 40kg/m2) vaccinated with Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine generated significantly more antibodies than those vaccinated with CoronaVac (inactivated SARS–CoV–2) vaccine, suggesting that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine might be a better choice for this vulnerable population.
Obesity is a disease complicating the course of COVID-19, and the vaccine antibody response in adults with obesity may be compromised. Vaccines against influenza, hepatitis B, and rabies, have shown reduced responses in people with obesity.
To find out more, researchers investigated antibody responses following Pfizer/BioNTech and CoronaVac vaccination in 124 adults (average age 42-63 years) with severe obesity who visited the Obesity Center at Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty Hospitals, between August and November 2021. They also recruited a control group of 166 normal weight adults (BMI less than 25kg/m2, average age 39-47 years) who were visiting the Cerrahpasa Hospitals Vaccination Unit.
Researchers measured antibody levels in blood samples taken from patients and normal weight controls who had received two doses of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or CoronaVac vaccine and had their second dose four weeks earlier. The participants were classified by infection history as either previously having COVID-19 or not (confirmed by their antibody profile).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 11 2022, @12:16AM (8 children)
I've often wondered why dose size isn't proportioned to body mass? Kids get lower doses, why shouldn't heavy people get larger doses?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 11 2022, @12:25AM (6 children)
Dosage volume is determined by the clinical trial results.
Do you think they will apply variable mass-dependent dosages in clinical trials when they don't even know what the "medium" dosage should be? With the limited trial subjects? In the expensive and time-consuming clinical trials?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 11 2022, @12:34AM
Thanks, makes sense that dose is driven by time and cost for the trial(s).
Digging my own hole deeper(!): If the clinical trial data is available, maybe there would be enough data to also tease out dose/weight sensitivity and see if it looks significant? If so, then offer two dose sizes for those above and below the median weight.
(Score: 2) by Beryllium Sphere (r) on Wednesday May 11 2022, @01:55AM (3 children)
It's like the aerospace adage "Test what you fly, fly what you test".
Mass-dependent dosage would be a logical thing to study now that the rush is over.
(Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 11 2022, @01:59AM (2 children)
Except there is no money in it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 11 2022, @02:40AM
Time to revise the reward system so there is money in it for someone! Keeping some people out of emergency wards would save plenty of money, system wide (or country wide). This could make good university research, funded by NIH.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 11 2022, @03:54AM
"troll?"
For stating the facts of the reality today, of the for-profit big pharmas' modus operandi?
On the bright side, I guess there are some young naive idealistic ones among the SN community. SN needs more young recruits.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday May 11 2022, @02:37PM
Now that over 10 BILLION doses have been given globally, I would they they might have a better idea of what is a "medium" dose.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 11 2022, @05:19PM
The immune system doesn't work that way. It's not proportional to body mass. Child doses are smaller not because they are smaller, but because their immune systems are different. Vaccine doses are tiny compared to other medicines because they're only inducing a very local effect: a fake "illness" at the injection site which teaches the immune system how to handle a similar infection anywhere in the body.