COVID Vaccine’s Surprising Superpower
Severe COVID-19 infections often lead to kidney damage, but vaccination significantly lowers the risk of this dangerous complication, according to a new study.
Research published in the June edition of Kidney Medicine reveals that unvaccinated individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and experiencing kidney failure requiring dialysis were nearly three times more likely to die during their hospital stay compared to those who had received the vaccine.
The study also found that unvaccinated patients were more than twice as likely to either die after discharge or continue needing dialysis once they returned home.
“The COVID-19 vaccine plays a crucial role in reducing the risk of serious complications like acute kidney injury among hospitalized patients,” said Dr. Niloofar Nobakht, lead author and clinical associate professor of medicine in the nephrology division at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.
“Discussing vaccination with a healthcare provider is important,” she added. “It can help patients avoid dialysis, which significantly impacts quality of life and can lead to further health risks, including death.”
Up to 46% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 develop acute kidney injury, sometimes requiring dialysis as their kidneys recover, the study noted.
For the analysis, researchers examined the medical records of roughly 3,500 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals between March 2020 and March 2022.
Kidney damage occurred in both groups—48% of vaccinated patients and 42% of unvaccinated—but severe kidney injury requiring dialysis was more common in unvaccinated individuals (16%) compared to their vaccinated counterparts (11%).
The data showed that unvaccinated patients needing dialysis were:
- 2.8 times more likely to die while hospitalized
- 2.4 times more likely to die after being discharged
- 2.6 times more likely to require continued dialysis post-discharge
Even after adjusting for other medical conditions, unvaccinated patients were found to be 5.5 times more likely to die in the hospital and 4.8 times more likely to die during long-term follow-up.
Dr. Nobakht emphasized the broader implications: “These findings underscore the critical need for further research into the effects of COVID-19 on kidney function and the best strategies for managing related complications to improve survival and recovery.”
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