The Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccines in Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis Patients

IntroductionThe effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines was investigated in dialysis patients. MethodsDialysis patients and healthy individuals were included in this study. Vaccination information and post-vaccine antibody levels were obtained, and infection risk factors were examined. ResultsThe proportion of patients receiving three doses of CoronaVac in the peritoneal dialysis group was higher than in the control and hemodialysis groups. The rate of those receiving two doses of the BioNTech vaccine in the hemodialysis group was higher than in the control group, and the rate of those receiving the combined vaccine was higher in the control group than in the peritoneal dialysis group. Post-vaccination antibody responses were higher in the control group. Administration of the combination vaccine resulted in better antibody responses. The risk of COVID-19 infection after vaccination decreased with increasing albumin levels and increased with diabetes. ConclusionCombination vaccination produced better antibody responses in maintenance dialysis patients. This retrospective study compares the effectiveness of inactivated and mRNA COVID-19 vaccines at different applications in dialysis patients. There are very few similar studies in the literature on the dialysis population. The critical results of the study are as follows: Key concepts Response to COVID-19 vaccines in dialysis patients is lower than in the healthy population. mRNA vaccines are more effective than inactivated vaccines. Additional booster doses should be considered as antibody levels decrease over time. Combining different vaccines increases protection against COVID-19.