P-2114. Prepared or Unprotected? Evaluating Live Viral Vaccine Coverage and Serologic Immunity Before Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation

Abstract Background Pediatric solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at increased risk for complications from vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and chickenpox. Many recipients remain incompletely protected against these diseases when transplanted. Considering the recent measles outbreak, gaps in protection for live viral vaccines (LVVs) are increasingly important. This study assessed pre-transplant vaccination status for LVVs and immunity in SOT recipients.Table 1.Demographics of pediatric solid organ transplant recipients.Table 2.Varicella vaccination status of the recipients at different timepoints. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of SOT recipients transplanted at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center between 1.1.2018 and 12.31.2024. Demographics, vaccination history, and pre-transplant serologic results for varicella zoster virus (VZV) and rubeola were collected. VZV serology (IgG) was routinely collected pre-transplant with rubeola IgG added in early 2022. Patients were categorized by vaccination status and serological immunity at key pre-transplant timepoints.Table 3.Rubeola vaccination status of the recipients at different timepoints. Results A total of 421 patients were evaluated with liver and kidney most common (Table 1). The median (IQR) time between initiating transplant evaluation and listing was 42 (20 – 109.5) days, and the median time from listing to transplantation was 114 (37.5 – 267.5) days. The rate of optimally vaccinated patients at evaluation, listing, and transplantation time was 83.1%, 86.5%, and 80.8% for VZV and 83.1%, 83.6%, and 78.4% for rubeola. The proportion of optimally vaccinated patients for VZV were lowest in lung (11/16) and heart (46/72) recipients, while for the rubeola rates were lowest in heart (43/72) and liver (94/141) recipients (Tables 2 & 3). Serologic evaluation was performed in 94% of recipients for VZV and 58% of recipients for rubeola. Although serological responses were not checked after each vaccination, the pre-transplant seropositivity rates in optimally vaccinated patients were 76% (217/284) for VZV and 87% (168/193) for rubeola. Conclusion In this study of pediatric SOT recipients, many patients are sub-optimally vaccinated with live viral vaccines prior to transplant. Optimal vaccination did not guarantee seropositivity. Our findings highlight the importance of early assessment, systematic vaccine documentation, and timely catch-up vaccination to improve protection against measles and varicella. Disclosures Grant C. Paulsen, MD, Moderna, Inc: Grant/Research Support|Pfizer: Grant/Research Support|Sanofi: Grant/Research Support Lara A. Danziger-Isakov, MD, MPH, Aicuris: Grant/Research Support|Ansun BioPharma: Grant/Research Support|Astellas: Advisor/Consultant|Astellas: Grant/Research Support|Merck: Advisor/Consultant|Merck: Grant/Research Support|Pfizer (Any division): Grant/Research Support|Takeda: Grant/Research Support

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Journal
Open Forum Infectious Diseases
Published
2026-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofaf695.2278
Primary Topic
Virology and Viral Diseases
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article
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article

P-2114. Prepared or Unprotected? Evaluating Live Viral Vaccine Coverage and Serologic Immunity Before Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation

Grant Paulsen, Kathleen M. Campbell, Teresa Ambrosino, W Otto et al.
Open Forum Infectious Diseases
Virology and Viral Diseases
article

P-2114. Prepared or Unprotected? Evaluating Live Viral Vaccine Coverage and Serologic Immunity Before Pediatric Solid Organ Transplantation

Grant Paulsen, Kathleen M. Campbell, Teresa Ambrosino, W Otto, Caitlin Brammer, Benhur Şirvan Çetin, Mark T. Murphy, Kerrigan Perkins, Lara Danziger-Isakov, Emily R Cain, Hilary Miller-Handley
article en

Abstract

Abstract Background Pediatric solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are at increased risk for complications from vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and chickenpox. Many recipients remain incompletely protected against these diseases when transplanted. Considering the recent measles outbreak, gaps in protection for live viral vaccines (LVVs) are increasingly important. This study assessed pre-transplant vaccination status for LVVs and immunity in SOT recipients.Table 1.Demographics of pediatric solid organ transplant recipients.Table 2.Varicella vaccination status of the recipients at different timepoints. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of SOT recipients transplanted at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center between 1.1.2018 and 12.31.2024. Demographics, vaccination history, and pre-transplant serologic results for varicella zoster virus (VZV) and rubeola were collected. VZV serology (IgG) was routinely collected pre-transplant with rubeola IgG added in early 2022. Patients were categorized by vaccination status and serological immunity at key pre-transplant timepoints.Table 3.Rubeola vaccination status of the recipients at different timepoints. Results A total of 421 patients were evaluated with liver and kidney most common (Table 1). The median (IQR) time between initiating transplant evaluation and listing was 42 (20 – 109.5) days, and the median time from listing to transplantation was 114 (37.5 – 267.5) days. The rate of optimally vaccinated patients at evaluation, listing, and transplantation time was 83.1%, 86.5%, and 80.8% for VZV and 83.1%, 83.6%, and 78.4% for rubeola. The proportion of optimally vaccinated patients for VZV were lowest in lung (11/16) and heart (46/72) recipients, while for the rubeola rates were lowest in heart (43/72) and liver (94/141) recipients (Tables 2 & 3). Serologic evaluation was performed in 94% of recipients for VZV and 58% of recipients for rubeola. Although serological responses were not checked after each vaccination, the pre-transplant seropositivity rates in optimally vaccinated patients were 76% (217/284) for VZV and 87% (168/193) for rubeola. Conclusion In this study of pediatric SOT recipients, many patients are sub-optimally vaccinated with live viral vaccines prior to transplant. Optimal vaccination did not guarantee seropositivity. Our findings highlight the importance of early assessment, systematic vaccine documentation, and timely catch-up vaccination to improve protection against measles and varicella. Disclosures Grant C. Paulsen, MD, Moderna, Inc: Grant/Research Support|Pfizer: Grant/Research Support|Sanofi: Grant/Research Support Lara A. Danziger-Isakov, MD, MPH, Aicuris: Grant/Research Support|Ansun BioPharma: Grant/Research Support|Astellas: Advisor/Consultant|Astellas: Grant/Research Support|Merck: Advisor/Consultant|Merck: Grant/Research Support|Pfizer (Any division): Grant/Research Support|Takeda: Grant/Research Support

Open Forum Infectious DiseasesVol. 13(Supplement_1)
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US), Erciyes University (TR)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 92%
Virology and Viral Diseases
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