Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

April 19, 2021

Efficacy of the BNT162b2 MRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

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  • Among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL, n = 169) who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the antibody response rate was 39.5% as measured by the Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay at a median of 15 days after the second dose. Compared to age- and sex-matched controls, the response rate among patients with CLL was significantly reduced (aOR =0.01). The response rate was highest in patients who were in remission after treatment (79.2%), followed by 55.2% in treatment-naïve and 16% in patients undergoing treatment at the time of vaccination. In patients treated with either Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors or venetoclax with or without anti-CD20 antibody, response rates were low (16.0% and 13.6%, respectively). 

Herishanu et al. (Apr 2021). Efficacy of the BNT162b2 MRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Blood. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2021011568