Increasing insight in the value of repetitive COVID‐19 vaccination in patients with haematological malignancies in the Omicron era

Abstract

The study by Kevlicius et al. from Lithuania gives further confirmation of the efficacy of booster mRNA COVID‐19 vaccination for patients with haemato‐oncological malignancies in the Omicron era. The risk of COVID‐19 and mortality was considerably reduced when patients received the booster vaccination. The threshold of the humoral response to vaccination that was protective for haemato‐oncological patients was defined. In particular, ruxolitinib and anti‐CD20 treatments limited the humoral response to the third booster vaccination. These data may influence the clinical management of haemato‐oncological patients in future waves of the COVID‐19 pandemic, regarding for example the selection of patients for passive immunization against SARS‐CoV‐2.Commentary on: Kevličius et al. Immunogenicity and clinical effectiveness of mRNA vaccine booster against SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron in patients with haematological malignancies: A national prospective cohort study. Br J Haematol 2023 (Online ahead of print). doi: 10.1111/bjh.19126