{"id":210977,"date":"2025-02-18T15:50:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T01:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=210977"},"modified":"2025-02-18T15:50:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T01:50:13","slug":"obesity-diabetes-covid-vaccine-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/02\/18\/obesity-diabetes-covid-vaccine-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Obesity, diabetes linked to weaker COVID-19 vaccine response"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"swab<\/p>\n

New research on weakened COVID-19 vaccine responses in people with obesity and diabetes is the featured study in the latest issue of COVID<\/em><\/a>, conducted by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s John A. Burns School of Medicine<\/a> (JABSOM<\/abbr>), accompanied by cover art from a Kapiʻolani<\/span> Community College<\/a> post-doctoral fellow.<\/p>\n

The study, led by JABSOM<\/abbr> third year medical student Brent Fujimoto and PhD alumna Olivia Smith in Professor Axel Lehrer\u2019s lab, examines how different COVID-19 vaccines perform in individuals with obesity and diabetes\u2014two conditions that increase vulnerability to the virus. Brien Haun, a postdoc fellow at Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr>, also contributed to the research and designed the cover art.<\/p>\n

\"fujimoto,
Brent Fujimoto, Axel Lehrer, Brien Haun and Olivia Smith.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Funded by the Victoria S. and Bradley L. Geist Foundation via the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Community Foundation, the study tested vaccine responses in mice with obesity and Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Results showed that all three conditions weakened immune responses post-vaccination, particularly in diabetic mice. However, mRNA<\/abbr> vaccines produced strong antibody responses in all cases. Additionally, an enhanced protein vaccine developed at JABSOM<\/abbr> (adjuvanted subunit vaccine) helped boost antibody strength in obese and diabetic mice.<\/p>\n

mRNA<\/abbr> vaccines remain highly effective, but people with obesity or diabetes may need additional doses or tailored interventions to enhance immune protection.
—Brent Fujimoto<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“This shows us that mRNA<\/abbr> vaccines can still be good at blocking virus responses and the CoVaccine adjuvanted subunit vaccine (enhanced protein vaccine) helps strengthen the quality of antibodies in obese and diabetic mice, making them better at recognizing and attaching to the virus,” said Smith.<\/p>\n

Fujimoto emphasized the real-world impact. “mRNA<\/abbr> vaccines remain highly effective, but people with obesity or diabetes may need additional doses or tailored interventions to enhance immune protection.”<\/p>\n

Haun\u2019s cover art, inspired by Zen philosophy and the Roman god Janus (god of beginnings and endings, gates and doors), symbolizes the delicate balance between resilience and fragility in immune responses. <\/p>\n

“I\u2019m so proud that our collaborative efforts in the middle of the Pacific are not only advancing our understanding of the virus, but it\u2019s also earned us a spot on the cover of COVID<\/em>,” Lehrer said. “These are achievements we can all be proud of and it\u2019s a testament to the power of teamwork in research.”<\/p>\n

Read more at JABSOM<\/abbr><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The study was published in the January 2025 issue of COVID<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1411,1417,31,63,1363,241,158,429,71,9],"class_list":["post-210977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-covid-19","tag-covid-19-research","tag-john-a-burns-school-of-medicine","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-manoa-research","tag-public-health","tag-publication","tag-tropical-medicine-and-medical-microbiology","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t