The Philippine Society of Nephrology (PSN) fully supports the International Society of Nephrology’s urgent call for the immediate prioritization of the estimated 3 million dialysis patients worldwide to receive the life-saving SARS-COV-2 vaccine.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC) has identified chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients as high risk to develop COVID-19 related hospitalization. Likewise, studies have also shown that patients on maintenance hemodialysis are extremely vulnerable to the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection with a COVID-19 associated mortality exceeding 20%.
Local data from the National Kidney and Transplant Institute showed a 34% mortality among chronic hemodialysis patients and 20% among continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients who were admitted due to confirmed COVID-19 infection.
In the DOH vaccination framework, next to be vaccinated after healthcare workers/frontliners, are senior citizens (A-2) and patients with comorbidities (A-3). Many of our CKD and dialysis patients if not senior citizens, have multiple comorbidities (heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, etc.) thus we submit the following reasons for such request for urgent prioritization of CKD patients, particularly those on dialysis:
- Aside from the 20% mortality rate, the US CDC listed CKD patients as among a subgroup of patients with increased risk (2.5x) of severe COVID-19 associated hospitalization. The risk increases to five times (5x) if the CKD status is associated with 2 or more risk factors. Many if not all of CKD or dialysis patients in the Philippines have 2 or more risk factors.
- CKD patients on dialysis are further exposed to the risks of contracting COVID-19 due to the following reasons:
- limited ability to be physically distant from each other during treatments
- High risk for death when infected as shown by the US and NKTI data.
- Their vaccination will maximize safety in dialysis facilities through reduction of the risk of infection among the dialysis patients who cannot afford to miss the two to three times weekly mandatory congregation brought about by their treatment sessions.
– PSN Board of Trustees, FY 2020-2021
