Can a booster shot and lowered immune drugs protect transplant patients from COVID?
NCT ID NCT05077254
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looked at whether giving an extra dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) to kidney and liver transplant recipients could boost their antibody levels. Some participants also temporarily reduced their immunosuppressive medications to see if that helped the vaccine work better. The trial enrolled 48 adults who had a transplant at least a year ago and had low antibody levels after their initial vaccine series.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) with or without reduction of standard immunosuppressive drugs (mycophenolate mofetil, tacrolimus)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a strategy to improve vaccine protection in transplant patients who are at high risk for severe COVID-19.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study with only 48 participants, so results may not apply to all transplant recipients. Reducing immunosuppression carries a risk of organ rejection.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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48 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Dec 2021
- Finished
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Feb 2025
- Lead sponsor
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A government research agency
The lead sponsor is the US National Institutes of Health.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Individuals who meet all the following criteria are eligible for enrollment as study participants- 1. Able to understand and provide informed consent 2. Individual ≥18 years of age. 3. Recipient of a kidney or liver transplant ≥12 months prior to enrollment, without allograft rejection in the 6 months preceding enrollment 4. Negative for anti-donor human leukocyte antigens (HLA) antibodies at screening (Central Lab Test Determination). 5. Currently taking one of the following tacrolimus-based immunosuppressive regimens: * Tacrolimus plus Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) or Mycophenolic Acid (MPA), with or without a corticosteroid * Tacrolimus with trough ≥ 5ng/mL with or without ≤5 mg of prednisone or equivalent 6. Received a minimum of 3 doses of either the Moderna coronavirus infectious disease 19 (COVID-19) vaccine or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 7. Participant must be ≥ 60 days after completion of primary vaccination or receipt of the most recent booster dose with any authorized or approved monovalent or bivalent COVID-19 vaccine at the time of study vaccine. 8. Serum antibody negative or low (titer ≤ 2500 U/mL) at ≥ 30 days from the last dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and ≥ 30 days following receipt of a monoclonal antibody product or convalescent plasma for COVID-19, measured using the Roche Elecsys® anti-SARS-CoV-2 S assay. 9. Participant's transplant physician or midlevel practitioner who is clinically licensed to prescribe and manage immunosuppression must confirm the participant's eligibility based on medical history. Exclusion Criteria: Individuals who meet any of these criteria are not eligible for enrollment as study participants- 1. Currently on an immunosuppressive regimen different from the three regimens described in the Inclusion Criteria, for example (but not limited to) those including sirolimus, everolimus, belatacept, or azathioprine 2. Recipient of any allograft other than a kidney or liver 3. Participant is pregnant 4. Any past history of Donor Specific Antibody (DSA) using local site standards 5. Prior receipt of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine 2023-2024 or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine 2023-2024. 6. Currently taking any systemic immunosuppressive agent, other than their prescribed transplant immunosuppression 7. Known history of severe allergic reaction to any component of an authorized or licensed COVID-19 vaccine 8. Thrombotic events, myocarditis, or pericarditis temporally associated with a prior dose of COVID-19 vaccine 9. History of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia 10. Any change in transplant immunosuppression regimen (drug or dose) in response to suspected or proven rejection within the last 6 months 11. More than minimal graft dysfunction, in accordance with study definition 12. Receipt of any cellular depleting agent (e.g. antithymocyte globulins (ATG), rituximab, alemtuzumab, Cyclophosphamide) within 12 months preceding enrollment 13. Concurrent autoimmune disease at risk for exacerbation with immunosuppression reduction 14. Any untreated active infection including BK viremia \>10\^4 copies 15. Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) 16. Recent (within one year) or ongoing treatment for malignancy with the exception of: * Non- melanomatous skin cancer definitively treated by local therapy, and * Definitively treated carcinoma-in-situ of the cervix (Stage 0 cervical cancer) 17. Treatment or prophylaxis of COVID-19 with a monoclonal antibody product or convalescent plasma within 6 months preceding enrollment, or 18. Any past or current medical problems, treatments, or findings which, in the opinion of the investigator, may: * pose additional risks from participation in the study, * interfere with the candidate's ability to comply with study requirements, or * impact the quality or interpretation of the data obtained from the study.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Emory Healthcare
Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, United States
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Houston Methodist
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research: Broadway Adult Outpatient Clinical Research Unit
Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
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Mt. Sinai Hospital
New York, New York, 10029, United States
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NYU Langone Transplant Institute
New York, New York, 10016, United States
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Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois, 60208, United States
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Ochsner Health
New Orleans, Louisiana, 70121, United States
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University of California San Francisco Health
San Francisco, California, 94143, United States
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University of California, San Diego
San Diego, California, 92093, United States
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University of Illinois Health
Chicago, Illinois, 60612, United States
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University of Iowa Hospitals
Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States
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University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
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University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260, United States
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University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, United States
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Weill Cornell Medicine
New York, New York, 10065, United States
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