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Background Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) are at increased risk for adverse outcomes with COVID-19. Early data shows a lower SARS-CoV-2 spike antibody immune response among SOTRs leading to patient concerns about vaccine efficacy. Public health messaging has largely left out immunocompromised individuals leading to a higher risk of vaccine misinformation. The American Society of Transplantation recommends COVID-19 vaccination for all SOTRs, however, patient concerns and beliefs about vaccination are largely unknown. Methods We conducted a transplant-center-based, pragmatic pilot trial to encourage COVID-19 vaccination among 103 unvaccinated SOTRs. We assessed vaccine concerns, barriers to vaccination, answered questions about efficacy, side effects, and clinical recommendations. Results A total of 24% (n = 25) of SOTRs reported that they will schedule COVID-19 vaccination after the study call, 46% reported that they will consider vaccination in the future, and 30% said they will not consider vaccination. Older age and White race were associated with lower willingness to schedule the vaccine, whereas Black race and longer time from transplant were associated with higher willingness. Common vaccine concerns included lack of long-term data, inconsistent messaging from providers, scheduling inconvenience, and insufficient resources. Follow-up approximately one month after the initial outreach found 52% (n = 13) of liver transplant recipients (LTRs) and 10% (n = 3) of kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) subsequently received COVID-19 vaccines for a vaccination rate of 29% among respondents. Conclusion Transplant center-based vaccine outreach efforts can decrease misinformation and increase vaccination uptake;however, vaccine-related mistrust remains high. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Background The serum tumor markers CA 19–9 and CA 125 are the serologic markers used for the monitoring of biliopancreatic and ovarian cancer, respectively. They are reported to be elevated in a variety of nonneoplastic clinical situations, including end-stage liver disease (ESLD). However, their prevalence and degree of elevation in patients with ESLD remained unclear. Aim To examine the prevalence and degree of elevation of CA 19–9 and CA 125 in patients with ESLD and to determine their association with severity of liver disease. Methods Retrospective analysis of 161 patients with ESLD that were evaluated for liver transplantation at our institution between March 2009 and December 2010. The mean age was 55.15 ± 8.75 years and 107 (66.4%) of the patients were men. Serum CA 19–9 and CA 125 levels were determined during evaluation of their candidacy for liver transplantation. Results Eighty-three (51.5%) patients had elevated CA 125 and 44 (53%) of them had a serum concentration >5 times the upper limit of normal (ULN). Elevated CA 125 was associated with alcoholic liver disease, high Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, and presence of ascites. Similarly, 37 (23%) patients had elevated CA 19–9 and 8 (21.6%) of them had a serum concentration >5 times ULN. Elevation of CA 19–9 was associated with high MELD score. Conclusions CA 125 and CA 19–9 concentrations were elevated in 51.5% and 23% of patients with ESLD, respectively. Although the definite etiology remained unclear, their elevation was associated with the pathological conditions associated with advanced liver disease. Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying mechanism(s) responsible for their increased levels.