Dana Yehudai-Ofir

Dr. Dana Yehudai-Ofir


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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1 April 2020 in Autoimmunity Reviews
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
DYDana Yehudai-Ofir
Dana Yehudai-Ofir
IHIsrael Henig
Israel Henig
TZTsila Zuckerman
Tsila Zuckerman

31 March 2023 in Vaccines
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
IHIsrael Henig
Israel Henig
JIJonathan Isenberg
Jonathan Isenberg
DYDana Yehudai-Ofir
Dana Yehudai-Ofir
RLRonit Leiba
Ronit Leiba
SRShimrit Ringelstein-Harlev
Shimrit Ringelstein-Harlev
TZTsila Zuckerman
Tsila Zuckerman
COVID-19-related mortality among hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients in the pre-vaccine era ranged between 22 and 33%. The Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 vaccine demonstrated significant immunogenicity and efficacy in the healthy population; however, its long-term effects on allogeneic HSCT recipients remained unclear. Our study longitudinally evaluated humoral and cellular responses to the BNT162b2 vaccine in adult allogeneic HSCT patients. A positive response was defined as antibody titers ≥ 150 AU/mL post-second vaccination. Among 77 included patients, 51 (66.2%) responded to vaccination. Response-associated factors were female gender, recent anti-CD20 therapy, and a longer interval between transplant and vaccination. Response rates reached 83.7% in patients vaccinated >12 months post-transplant. At 6 months post-second vaccination, antibody titers dropped, but were significantly increased with the booster dose. Moreover, 43% (6/14) of non-responders to the second vaccination acquired sufficient antibody titers after booster administration, resulting in an overall response rate of 79.5% for the entire cohort. The BNT162b2 vaccine was effective in allogeneic transplant recipients. Although antibody titers decreased with time, the third vaccination led to their significant elevation, with 93% of third-dose responders maintaining titers above 150 AU/mL at 3 months post-administration.