Complications and Efficacy of Sinopharm Vaccine among Liver and Kidney Transplantation

Abstract

Background: There are various vaccines against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, vaccination may lead to some complications. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the complications of transplant recipients who received the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted among 667 transplant recipients (211 liver transplant recipients and 456 kidney transplant recipients) who received the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from March to August 2021 and had medical records in Montaserieh Hospital, affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. The demographic and clinical information, as well as patient's symptoms after each dose of the vaccine, were recorded. Results: Only 16.8% and 13.7% of the patients experienced some symptoms following the first and second doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, respectively. No significant difference was observed between patients younger than 50 years and those aged 50 years and over in terms of the complication rate of the Sinopharm vaccine (P>0.005). Vaccine failure was reported in 10% of the cases; however, the mortality rate due to infection with the Delta variant of COVID-19 in this population was reported to be 0.7%. Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, adverse reactions of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine are generally mild, predictable, and non-life-threatening both in the first and second doses. Vaccine failure was reported in 10% of the cases; however, mortality due to infection with the Delta variant of COVID-19 was reported in less than 1% of the cases.