COVID‐19 vaccines are effective in people with obesity: A position statement from The Obesity Society

Abstract

The position statement is issued by The Obesity Society in response to published literature, as well as inquiries made to the Society by patients, providers, Society members, policy makers, and others regarding the efficacy of vaccines in persons with obesity against SARS‐CoV‐2, the virus that causes COVID‐19. The Obesity Society has critically evaluated data from published peer‐reviewed literature and briefing documents from Emergency Use Authorization applications submitted by Pfizer‐BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. We conclude that these vaccines are highly efficacious, and their efficacy is not significantly different in people with and without obesity, based on scientific evidence available at the time of publication. The Obesity Society believes there is no definitive way to determine which of these three COVID‐19 vaccines is “best” for any weight subpopulation (because of differences in the trial design and outcome measures in the phase 3 trials, elapsed time between doses, and regional differences in the presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 variants [e.g., South Africa B.1.351 in Johnson & Johnson trial]). All three trials have demonstrated high efficacy against COVID‐19–associated hospitalization and death. Therefore, The Obesity Society encourages adults with obesity ≥18 years (≥16 years for Pfizer‐BioNTech) to undergo vaccination with any one of the currently available vaccines authorized for emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration as soon as they are able.

Antibody responses to BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine: infection-naïve individuals with abdominal obesity warrant attention

“…Remarkably, the available clinical evidence and a recent position statement showed that vaccines are not less effective for individuals with obesity and that they are an important protection against COVID-19 [4,7].…”

“…Nevertheless, researchers fear that vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 might not be as effective in people with obesity [5], since studies on vaccines against influenza, hepatitis B, and rabies have shown a reduced immune response in these individuals [5,6]. To date, the available clinical evidence demonstrates that the efficacy of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 does not differ among individuals with obesity compared to those without obesity [4,7].…”

BNT162b2 vaccine considerations for immunocompromised individuals: A global perspective

“…Another study assessing the correlation between abdominal obesity (AO) and response to mRNA vaccines reported that after two doses of BNT162b2 vaccine lower antibody peak was found among infection-naïve individuals with AO compared to individuals without AO [ 44 ]. Contradictory to these findings, some studies have also found comparable vaccine efficacies in individuals with obesity and those without [ 45 , 46 ].…”

Assessment of COVID-19 vaccination effectiveness

“…profilaktyka powinna zaczynać się od zdrowego trybu życia. Wtedy szczepienia będą skuteczniejsze, a ryzyko wystąpienia takich chorób mniejsze [38][39][40][41].…”