Systematic review of safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in patients with kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 37 million or 15% of the U.S. population and 2 in every 1000 Americans are on dialysis or living with a kidney transplant.1 In 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection became the third leading cause of death for persons 45 through 84 years of age, and individuals with kidney disease are recognized as being at higher risk for severe complications from COVID-19 infection.2,S1 While vaccination is a powerful and cost-effective method to reduce infection-related morbidity and mortality, vaccine efficacy has historically not been rigorously studied in individuals with CKD, and COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity is largely unknown in this high-risk population. Numerous clinical trials of candidate COVID-19 vaccines have been undertaken; however, it is unknown whether results are generalizable to individuals living with kidney disease, in particular those on dialysis or receiving chronic immunosuppression for treatment of glomerulonephritis or kidney transplantation. We sought to systematically review registered COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials for inclusion of criteria relevant to individuals with kidney disease