New research on weakened COVID-19 vaccine responses in people with obesity and diabetes is the featured study in the latest issue of COVID, conducted by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), accompanied by cover art from a Kapiʻolani Community College post-doctoral fellow.
The study, led by JABSOM third year medical student Brent Fujimoto and PhD alumna Olivia Smith in Professor Axel Lehrer’s lab, examines how different COVID-19 vaccines perform in individuals with obesity and diabetes—two conditions that increase vulnerability to the virus. Brien Haun, a postdoc fellow at Kapiʻolani CC, also contributed to the research and designed the cover art.
Funded by the Victoria S. and Bradley L. Geist Foundation via the Hawaiʻi 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 vaccines produced strong antibody responses in all cases. Additionally, an enhanced protein vaccine developed at JABSOM (adjuvanted subunit vaccine) helped boost antibody strength in obese and diabetic mice.
mRNA vaccines remain highly effective, but people with obesity or diabetes may need additional doses or tailored interventions to enhance immune protection.
—Brent Fujimoto
“This shows us that mRNA 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.
Fujimoto emphasized the real-world impact. “mRNA vaccines remain highly effective, but people with obesity or diabetes may need additional doses or tailored interventions to enhance immune protection.”
Haun’s 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.
“I’m so proud that our collaborative efforts in the middle of the Pacific are not only advancing our understanding of the virus, but it’s also earned us a spot on the cover of COVID,” Lehrer said. “These are achievements we can all be proud of and it’s a testament to the power of teamwork in research.”
