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Urwah Kanwal
Pronouns
She/Her/Hers
Job Title
Clinical Research Assistant
Academic Rank
Department
Medicine
Authors
Urwah Kanwal, Natalie Izaguirre, Rebecca Rooks, Omolola Ometoruwa, Megan Powell, Xiaofang Li, Kimberly Dufresne, Amy Sherman, M.D., Nicolas Issa, M.D., Stephen Walsh, M.D., Lindsey Baden, M.D.
Principal Investigator
Amy Sherman, M.D.
Research Category: COVID-19
Tags
Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) has severely affected millions of people since December 2019. Individuals with immunocompromised conditions such as cancer and rheumatic diseases are at higher risk of infections either due to condition itself or immunomodulatory treatments they have received. Immunocompromised individuals have shown reduced immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines.
Methods: A cohort of patients (n= 217) including adults with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) (n= 112), hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients (n=82), solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients (n= 16), and patients diagnosed with rheumatological conditions (n= 3) was established for a longitudinal, prospective study to assess and understand the immune response to COVID-19 vaccines at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During study visits, serum, plasma, spike antibody (Ab), and peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) samples were collected.
Results and Conclusions: From January 4, 2021 to August 30, 2022, approximately 1151 samples were collected at different time points. Mean samples collected per participant were 5.3 (SD = 2.6). The median age in the cohort was 64.3 (IQR 55.4-71.1). Longitudinal sampling is ongoing and the clinical and biospecimen data obtained will be used to investigate long-term immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines and infection.
Background: COVID-19 has affected millions of people globally since December 2019. The population with weakened immune response such as patients with cancer, solid organ transplants, and rheumatic diseases are at a higher risk of infections. Although vaccines have been available to prevent COVID-19 infection, immunosuppressed individuals have shown reduced immunity in response to such vaccines.
Methods: Therefore, a cohort of 217 patients consisting of 112 adults with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), 82 adults who have received hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), 16 adults who have undergone solid organ transplant (SOT), and 3 adults diagnosed with rheumatological conditions was created for a long-term follow-up study in order to assess and understand the immune response to COVID-19 vaccines. During study visits, blood samples were collected from these patients.
Results and Conclusions: From January 4, 2021 to August 30, 2022, approximately 1151 samples were collected at different time points. The average of 5 samples were collected per participant. The median age in the cohort was 64.3. In future, sampling will be continued to understand the long-term immune responses to SARS-Cov-2 mRNA vaccines in these vulnerable populations.
