Pretransplantation coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination requirements: A matched case-control study of factors associated with waitlist inactivation

• Published in: American journal of transplantation Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 134 - 140
• Main Authors: Edwards, Anya L., Tavakol, Mehdi M., Mello, Anna, Kerney, Jennifer, Roberts, John P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-01-2024
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Case-Control Studies; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; equity in transplantation; Humans; Medicare; pretransplantation COVID-19 vaccination; Retrospective Studies; United States - epidemiology; Vaccination; Waiting Lists; United States; COVID-19; ESRD; SARS-CoV-2; equity in transplantation; CAIR; SOT; UNOS; EMR; pretransplantation COVID-19 vaccination; VEM
• ISSN: 1600-6135; 1600-6143
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajt.2023.09.009

Numerous United States transplant centers require solid organ transplantation candidates to be vaccinated against the coronavirus disease of 2019 to be active on the United Network for Organ Sharing waiting list. This study examined characteristics of adult patients on one center's kidney transplantation waiting list whose status was inactivated due to a lack of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination by July 1, 2022, and who did not subsequently provide proof of vaccination by August 31, 2022 (cases). Patients in the control group were retrospectively matched to patients in the case group in a 4-to-1 fashion according to age, sex, and “active” status on the waiting list. Multivariable logistic regression was performed, with race/ethnicity, primary language, health insurance, education, and Vaccine Equity Metric (VEM, a measure of health equity at the zip code level) quartile as covariates. Results revealed that patients from zip codes in the lowest VEM quartile (odds ratio [OR] 1.89; P = .02) and those insured by governmental payors (Medicare: OR, 2.00; P < .01 and Medicaid: OR, 2.89; P < .01) had higher odds of being inactivated than those from zip codes that make up the highest VEM quartile and those insured by commercial payors, respectively. These findings serve as a cautionary tale regarding universal pretransplantation vaccination requirements, which may raise equity concerns that should be considered upon policy implementation.