From February to July 2021, info was gathered for 5,121 people with different types of RMD who had received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. Among people with inflammatory RMDs, 54% were taking a traditional artificial disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (csDMARD), 42% were on biological DMARDs (bDMARDs), and 35% were taking immunosuppressant medications for their RMD (e.g., glucocorticoids, mycophenolate, azathioprine).
The arise from COVAX show that most of people with inflammatory RMDs endure their COVID vaccine well– without any distinction in security profile to that seen in the general population or individuals with non-inflammatory RMDs. The most typical negative effects were short-term responses to the injection. One of the factors for asking additional security questions in individuals with inflammatory RMDs is the issue that the vaccine might cause a disease flare. In this research study, only 4.4% of people experienced a flare after having their COVID vaccine, and only 0.6% were classified as extreme. The bulk of people (over 98%) had the ability to continue on their normal medication with no changes. The research study also discovered there was a low rate of COVID-19 infections in individuals with RMDs once they were totally vaccinated.
These are important findings which will support discussions about the safety and benefit/risk ratio of COVID vaccination for individuals with RMDs. The details will also be beneficial for the advancement of brand-new and upgraded recommendations.
Recommendation: “Safety of vaccination versus SARS-CoV-2 in people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: results from the EULAR Coronavirus Vaccine (COVAX) physician-reported computer registry” by Pedro M Machado, Saskia Lawson-Tovey, Anja Strangfeld, Elsa F Mateu, Kimme L Hyrich, Laure Gossec, Loreto Carmona, Ana Rodrigues, Bernd Raffeiner, Catia Duarte, Eric Hachulla, Eric Veillard, Eva Strakova, Gerd R Burmester, Gözde Kübra Yardimci, Jose A Gomez-Puerta, Julija Zepa, Lianne Kearsley-Fleet, Ludovic Trefond, Maria Cunha, Marta Mosca, Martina Cornalba, Martin Soubrier, Nicolas Roux, Olivier Brocq, Patrick Durez, Richard Conway, Tiphaine Goulenok, Johannes WJ Bijlsma, Iain B McInnes and Xavier Mariette, 31 December 2021, Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.DOI: 10.1136/ annrheumdis-2021-221490.
Amongst individuals with inflammatory RMDs, 54% were taking a standard synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (csDMARD), 42% were on biological DMARDs (bDMARDs), and 35% were taking immunosuppressant medicines for their RMD (e.g., glucocorticoids, mycophenolate, azathioprine).
The outcomes from COVAX reveal that the bulk of people with inflammatory RMDs tolerate their COVID vaccine well– with no difference in security profile to that seen in the basic population or individuals with non-inflammatory RMDs. One of the factors for asking extra safety questions in people with inflammatory RMDs is the concern that the vaccine could cause an illness flare.
Computer system registry data reveals security of COVID-19 vaccines in individuals with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.
In February 2021, EULAR, the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology, released COVAX– a physician-reported registry to gather details about COVID vaccination in individuals with both non-inflammatory and inflammatory RMDs. Rheumatologists in EULAR-affiliated countries were asked to report as many cases as possible of people with RMDs who had actually gotten a COVID vaccine, whether or not they had experienced side impacts.
