A recent study revealed that vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 does not seem to come with significant safety concerns in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). At the same time, vaccines can also elicit a robust neutralizing antibody response.
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Research involved 381 NAFLD patients with an average
age 39 years old, of which 47% were men who never had the novel coronavirus
disease (COVID-19). All participants received two doses of an inactivated virus
vaccine, 14 days after which blood samples were collected. The neutralizing
antibodies were detected using magnetic particle chemiluminescence assays.
Primary safety outcome of interest was the occurrence of the adverse events
within 7 days after each injection.
In general, 95 patients saw adverse reactions within 7
days after each injection, while 112 patients had adverse reactions within 28
days. Most common side effects were injection site pain (18.4%), muscle pain (5.5%),
headache (5.2%), and fatigue (4.7%).
The reported adverse events were mild and
self-limiting; there were no grade 3 reactions recorded.
Regarding immunogenicity, neutralizing antibodies were
first detected after an average of 39 days. Almost all (95%) of the participants
vaccinated showed neutralizing antibodies, with an average titre of 32.
Researchers said that a larger prospective follow-up
study for robust evidence of efficacy is needed. In conclusion, the inactivated
COVID-19 vaccine appears to be safe with good immunogenicity in patients with
NAFLD.
Source: J Hepatol 2021;doi:10.1016/j.jhep.2021.04.026