Safety of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: results from the EULAR Coronavirus Vaccine (COVAX) physician-reported registry

Pedro M. Machado, Saskia Lawson-Tovey, Anja Strangfeld, Elsa F. Mateus, Kimme L. Hyrich, Laure Gossec, Loreto Carmona, Ana Rodrigues, Bernd Raffeiner, Catia Duarte, Eric Hachulla, Eric Veillard, Eva Strakova, Gerd R. Burmester, Gözde Kübra Yardımcı, Jose A. Gomez-Puerta, Julija Zepa, Lianne Kearsley-Fleet, Ludovic Trefond, Maria CunhaMarta Mosca, Martina Cornalba, Martin Soubrier, Nicolas Roux, Olivier Brocq, Patrick Durez, Richard Conway, Tiphaine Goulenok, Johannes Wj Bijlsma, Iain B. McInnes, Xavier Mariette

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143 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe the safety of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in people with inflammatory/autoimmune rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (I-RMD). METHODS: Physician-reported registry of I-RMD and non-inflammatory RMD (NI-RMDs) patients vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. From 5 February 2021 to 27 July 2021, we collected data on demographics, vaccination, RMD diagnosis, disease activity, immunomodulatory/immunosuppressive treatments, flares, adverse events (AEs) and SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections. Data were analysed descriptively. RESULTS: The study included 5121 participants from 30 countries, 90% with I-RMDs (n=4604, 68% female, mean age 60.5 years) and 10% with NI-RMDs (n=517, 77% female, mean age 71.4). Inflammatory joint diseases (58%), connective tissue diseases (18%) and vasculitis (12%) were the most frequent diagnostic groups; 54% received conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), 42% biological DMARDs and 35% immunosuppressants. Most patients received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (70%), 17% AstraZeneca/Oxford and 8% Moderna. In fully vaccinated cases, breakthrough infections were reported in 0.7% of I-RMD patients and 1.1% of NI-RMD patients. I-RMD flares were reported in 4.4% of cases (0.6% severe), 1.5% resulting in medication changes. AEs were reported in 37% of cases (37% I-RMD, 40% NI-RMD), serious AEs in 0.5% (0.4% I-RMD, 1.9% NI-RMD). CONCLUSION: The safety profiles of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in patients with I-RMD was reassuring and comparable with patients with NI-RMDs. The majority of patients tolerated their vaccination well with rare reports of I-RMD flare and very rare reports of serious AEs. These findings should provide reassurance to rheumatologists and vaccine recipients and promote confidence in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine safety in I-RMD patients.

Original languageEnglish
Article number221490
Pages (from-to)695-709
Number of pages15
JournalAnnals of the rheumatic diseases
Volume81
Issue number5
Early online date2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • antirheumatic agents
  • autoimmune diseases
  • COVID-19
  • epidemiology
  • vaccination

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