COVID-19 mRNA vaccination responses in individuals with sickle cell disease: An ASH RC Sickle Cell Research Network Study

Alan R. Anderson, John J. Strouse, Deepa Manwani, Amanda M. Brandow, Elliott Vichinsky, Andrew Campbell, Patrick J. Leavey, Alecia Nero, Ibrahim F. Ibrahim, Joshua J. Field, Amanda Baer, Haideliza Soto-Calderon, Lauren Vincent, Yan Zhao, Jefferson J.S. Santos, Scott E. Hensley, Nicole Mortier, Sophie Lanzkron, Donna Neuberg, Charles S. AbramsBiree Andemariam, Amanda Brandow, Alice Cohen, Deepika Darbari, Fuad El Rassi, Joshua Field, Ellen Fung, Beatrice Gee, Ibrahim Ibrahim, Modupe Idowu, Julie Kanter, Elizabeth S. Klings, Allison King, Abdullah Kutlar, Jeffrey D. Lebensburger, Patrick Leavey, Robert I. Liem, Shalu Narang, Betty Pace, Charles T. Quinn, Kenneth Rivlin, Alexis A. Thompson, Venee N. Tubman, Mark Walters

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Children and adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) have increases in morbidity and mortality with COVID-19 infections. The American Society of Hematology Research Collaborative Sickle Cell Disease Research Network performed a prospective COVID-19 vaccine study to assess antibody responses and analyze whether messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccination precipitated any adverse effects unique to individuals with SCD. Forty-one participants received 2 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and provided baseline blood samples before vaccination and 2 months after the initial vaccination for analysis of immunoglobulin G (IgG) reactivity against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike protein. Six-month IgG reactivity against the viral RBD was also available in 37 patients. Postvaccination reactogenicity was common and similar to the general population. There were no fevers that required inpatient admission. Vaso-occlusive pain within 2 to 3 days of first or second vaccination was reported by 5 participants (12%) including 4 (10%) who sought medical care. Twenty-seven participants (66%) were seropositive at baseline, and all 14 initially seronegative participants (34%) converted to seropositive after vaccination. Overall, mRNA vaccination had a good risk-benefit profile in individuals with SCD. This mRNA vaccine study also marks the first evaluation of vaccine safety and antibody response in very young children with SCD.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4549-4553
Number of pages5
JournalBlood Advances
Volume8
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 10 2024

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