Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Prospective cohort shows infection rate in immunocompromised persons correlates with wastewater circulating variants, highlighting need for targeted vaccination strategies.
Background Immunocompromised patients remain at risk for COVID-19 despite multiple vaccinations owing in part to SARS-CoV-2 variant evolution. Infection incidence in the contemporary variant climate and relation to population-level viral circulation are not known, which impairs clinical guidance.SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence in immunosuppressed participants over time, in context of variant circulationDark and light blue bars represent number of incident COVID-19 cases in SOTR and non-SOTR immunocompromised participants, respectively, during a given calendar week (primary [right] Y axis). Background area plot represents level of community viral circulation per CDC wastewater monitoring, with colors representing relative proportions of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants over time (secondary [left] Y axis).Demographics, immunocompromising condition, and vaccination history of participants with vs. without incident SARS-CoV-2 infection Methods In a prospective national cohort, immunocompromised persons were surveyed on enrollment and 2, 4, 12, 26 weeks following any reported vaccination or infection event for incident SARS-CoV-2 infection (+antigen or PCR) from Oct. 2023-Oct. 2024; continuous unsolicited reporting was permitted. Infection incidence (# incident infections / total enrolled) was plotted by month and compared to US wastewater circulation (uL/mL) as well as CDC circulating variant proportions. Characteristics of immunocompromised persons reporting vs not reporting infections were compared. Breakthrough infection was defined as ≥14 days post XBB monovalent vaccination. Results Among 589 immunocompromised persons (371 [63%] solid organ transplant recipients [SOTRs]), there were 81 infections with incidence rate (IR) 13.2/100 person-years (PY) (95CI 10.3-16.8). IR was similar between SOTRs and non SOTRs (12.4 vs 14.5/100 PY). IR temporally varied, with highest peaks Jan-Feb 2024 (22/100 PY) and Aug-Sept 2024 (20/100 PY), corresponding to wastewater JN.1 and KP.2/3 surges, respectively; few infections occurred in Mar-Jun 2024 (Fig). Those reporting incident infections were older, further from SOT, and had more prior infections (Table). Median days from XBB vaccine to breakthrough was 115 (59-164); 32% were within 90 days. Conclusion In the modern SARS-CoV-2 era, infections in immunocompromised persons rise during peaks in wastewater circulation of novel variants. Clinicians may use changes in wastewater levels as a component of counseling regarding infection risk in immunocompromised patients, with relevance to risk behaviors and booster vaccination strategies. Disclosures Andrew H. Karaba, MD PhD, GSK: Advisor/Consultant|Hologic: Advisor/Consultant William Werbel, MD PhD, AstraZeneca: Advisor/Consultant|Novavax: Advisor/Consultant
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Gallo et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: