COVID-19 Vaccines Might Not be Effective to Obese People, Studies Claim

As everyone wait for the release of COVID-19 vaccine, study claims that being obese may render vaccines ineffective. Getting closer to finding an effective and safe vaccine that will combat the virus amid suffering from the pandemic for almost seven months, researchers claim that certain health conditions like obesity may hinder the vaccine's effectiveness, according to Times Now News.

Obese people are already at a high risk of contacting COVID-19, they are also likely to be more vulnerable to the virus, according to the researchers. Obesity is said to push the body's immune system to respond and may lead to severe inflammation. This health condition could make the body of a person less equipped in fighting the virus. 

An assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr.Chad Petit, said, "It is not a question of not working; it is more of a question of efficacy." 

The vaccine could work, but it may be less effective. Another researcher of the study considered the size of the vaccine needles for obese people since the standard size is a one-inch needle only; the vaccine could prove less useful for such cases. 

Also, Dr. Schaffner, a professor at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, said, "Physicians have to be very mindful what needle-length to use so that, if you're giving an intramuscular injection, it can reach the muscle."  

According to Advisory, in the United States, more than 107 million adults are classified obese based on BMI. Obesity places a person at a higher risk of developing severe cases of COVID-19 and has a high risk of dying from the virus, as per the CDC.

According to Varney, some scientists in the field of immunometabolism believe that the risks stem from the effect of obesity on a person's immune response. While healthy immune system triggers on and off, an obese individual's immune system tends to maintain a constant state of inflammation.

Vaccines are designed to elevate the inflammatory response of the immune system to fight against pathogens. However, chronic inflammation in obese adults interfere with the process and weakens vaccinations, as per Varney.

Obesity's ability to affect the response of a person to a vaccine was first discovered in 1985. During eleven months after vaccination, researchers found that immunity to hepatitis B declined more quickly by the obese hospital workers than those who are not considered obese. 

Other research found similar results among obese individuals regarding the effects of the vaccines against hepatitis, rabies, influenza, and tetanus.

Will a vaccine against COVID-19 be less effective in obese adults?

Researchers claim the possibility of less effectiveness of the vaccine against new coronavirus in obese adults as per Varney.

 An associate professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Raz Shaikh, said, "Will a COVID-19 vaccine work in the obese? Our prediction is no." However, just like the hope of obese people, researchers are also hopeful.

Researchers include adults with high BMIs in clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccines, according to Varney. Timothy Garvey, an endocrinologist and director of diabetes research at the University of Alabama, reiterated that just because vaccines for people with obesity might be less effective doesn't mean it won't be effective all.

The influenza vaccine still works to patients with obesity but not as well as the average effect on others. Garvey said that they still want obese people to get vaccinated, as per KHN.

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