The Humoral Immune Response of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Vaccine in Maintenance Dialysis Patients without Prior COVID-19 Infection

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients tend to have a reduced immune response to infection and vaccination. The efficacy of current available COVID-19 vaccines in CKD patients has not been widely evaluated. Methods: In the present study, three hundred and eight chronic dialysis patients received ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford-AstraZeneca, AZ). Blood tests using an antibody against the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S1 subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein had performed at four designed time points before and after the first and second vaccine. Results: The mean age of patients was 65.5 ± 12.38 years, and the male/female ratio was 61.4%:38.6% (189/119). Two weeks after the first vaccination, only 37.66% of patients had a positive antibody response (>50 AU/mL). However, 65.58% of the participants showed a delayed antibody response ten weeks after the first vaccine. Four weeks after the second vaccine, 94.16% of participants had positive antibody levels. Age was the most significant factor associated with antibody response. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that immune-naïve patients had significantly lower early active B cells and proliferative B cells than the age- and sex-matched immune responders. Conclusion: Despite a delayed response, 94.16% of chronic dialysis patients achieved a positive antibody response after two doses of the AZ vaccine. Age is the most significant factor associated with antibody response.