Becker's Hospital Review

40 CMO / CARE DELIVERY How 9 hospitals are approaching COVID-19 vaccines for transplant patients By Erica Carbajal M any of the country's more than 250 organ transplant centers have moved to require COVID-19 vac- cination for both organ recipients and do- nors, Kaiser Health News reported Oct. 8. Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth garnered at- tention in early October for its policy that it will not perform organ transplants on unvac- cinated patients in nearly all situations, but the health system is not alone. Other large systems — including Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, also based in Cleveland — have adopted similar policies, NBC News reported. UW Medicine in Seattle has done the same, Kaiser Health News reported. Transplant programs implementing these policies note the requirement is akin to other conditions transplant recipients must abide by, such as those requiring people quit smoking or using drugs before a transplant. ey also pointed to studies indicating trans- plant recipients are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness and outcomes. "Patients who have received a transplanted organ are at significant risk from COVID-19," Dan Weaver, a spokesperson for UCHealth, said in an email to Becker's. "Should they be- come infected, they are at particularly high risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death. Studies have found transplant patients who contract COVID-19 may have a mor- tality rate of 20 percent or higher. A living donor could pass COVID-19 infection on to an organ recipient even if they initially test negative for the disease, putting the patient's life at risk." Other systems have opted to move unvac- cinated patients lower down on their trans- plant lists, while some have no policy at all. "We do not have a policy regarding COVID-19 vaccination requirement for transplant candidates," a spokesperson for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center told the Tribune-Review. "UPMC continues its vaccine advocacy and outreach efforts and makes vaccines easily and readily available for all." Other hospitals not requiring the vaccine for organ transplants as of Oct. 8 include Hous- ton Methodist, Dallas-based Baylor Univer- sity Medical Center, Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, and Tampa (Fla.) General Hospi- tal, Kaiser Health News reported. e United Network for Organ Sharing, the national network that coordinates the country's organ donations, gives transplant centers the discretion over specific require- ments for removing or adding candidates to transplant wait lists. However, Kapilkumar Patel, MD, director of the lung transplant program at Tampa General Hospital, expects COVID-19 vacci- nation will eventually become mandatory at nearly all transplant centers in the U.S., since they are evaluated on the longer-term surviv- al of their patients. "I think it's going to spread like wildfire across the country," Dr. Patel told Kaiser Health News. "If you start losing [transplant] patients in a year due to COVID-19, it will be mandated sooner rather than later." n Texas hospital responds to photo of COVID-19 patient draped in plastic By Mackenzie Bean M edical Center Hospital in Odessa, Texas, said it received a flood of threats after a photo of a COVID-19 patient wearing a plastic drape over her head went viral, ABC affiliate KMID reported Oct. 14. Odessa's Accountability Project, a nonprofit, independent watchdog group, posted the photo on its Facebook page Oct. 11. The post, which has since been shared more than 1,000 times, said the patient was given a plastic bag labeled with the words "equipment cover" to wear over her head and upper torso as she was transported through the hospital. Medical Center Hospital has spoken with the patient's mother to address the situation, CEO Russell Tippin said in a statement to Becker's. "We were pleased to have the mother reach out to us to address the situation," Mr. Tippin said. "Our top priority will always be the safety and care of our patients. We are always willing to listen to our patients' experiences to better com- municate with them to make sure they are comfortable." Mr. Tippin said the hospital will use clear, plastic drapes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 when transporting pa- tients in certain situations, including if the patient cannot tolerate a mask or refuses to keep it on. Draped patients are never left unattended and are already receiving ox- ygen or breathing assistance. Patients or guardians also have the right to refuse the protection measure, he said. Since the photo went viral, hospital employees have re- ceived threats to their lives and their families' lives, and bomb threats were made against the hospital, according to the statement. "Rest assured, we take all of these threats seriously and are taking appropriate action," Mr. Tippin said. "Under no circumstances will MCH tolerate such threats to staff mem- bers, their families or anyone associated with the health system. Our staff have been true heroes for the past 19 months in battling this pandemic and do not deserve the vicious threats spewed by these hateful individuals." n

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