Clinical Course of COVID-19 Infection in a Hemodialysis Patient Despite Prior SARS-COV-2 Vaccination: A Case Report

The authors describe the clinical course of a hemodialysis patient with COVID-19 infection of the upper-respiratory tract despite prior SARS-COV-2 vaccination with two courses of BNT162b2 mRNA dosages.

Learning Points

1. A full course of COVID-19 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination in hemodialysis patients does not preclude wild type infection.

2. Even mild symptoms not typical for COVID-19 infection should prompt PCR-testing in vaccinated hemodialysis patients.

3. Completion of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination seems to mitigate the course of subsequent infection by the wild type of the virus towards less severe courses.

4. These data should be recognized when deciding on preventive measures and hygiene concepts in dialysis centers with so far relevant proportions of unvaccinated dialysis patients.

Keywords: COVID-19, vaccination, BNT162b2, hemodialysis, ESRD, antibody titer.