Journal
RMD OPEN
Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-001814
Keywords
COVID-19; vaccination; autoimmune diseases
Categories
Funding
- European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology
- American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation
- Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
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Among adults with systemic rheumatic disease who received COVID-19 vaccination, most patients were willing to temporarily discontinue disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to improve vaccine efficacy. Patient-reported adverse events were typical of those reported in the general population, and the relatively low frequency of rheumatic disease flare requiring medication changes was reassuring.
Background We describe the early experiences of adults with systemic rheumatic disease who received the COVID-19 vaccine. Methods From 2 April to 30 April 2021, we conducted an online, international survey of adults with systemic rheumatic disease who received COVID-19 vaccination. We collected patient-reported data on clinician communication, beliefs and intent about discontinuing disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) around the time of vaccination, and patient-reported adverse events after vaccination. Results We analysed 2860 adults with systemic rheumatic diseases who received COVID-19 vaccination (mean age 55.3 years, 86.7% female, 86.3% white). Types of COVID-19 vaccines were Pfizer-BioNTech (53.2%), Oxford/AstraZeneca (22.6%), Moderna (21.3%), Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (1.7%) and others (1.2%). The most common rheumatic disease was rheumatoid arthritis (42.3%), and 81.2% of respondents were on a DMARD. The majority (81.9%) reported communicating with clinicians about vaccination. Most (66.9%) were willing to temporarily discontinue DMARDs to improve vaccine efficacy, although many (44.3%) were concerned about rheumatic disease flares. After vaccination, the most reported patient-reported adverse events were fatigue/somnolence (33.4%), headache (27.7%), muscle/joint pains (22.8%) and fever/chills (19.9%). Rheumatic disease flares that required medication changes occurred in 4.6%. Conclusion Among adults with systemic rheumatic disease who received COVID-19 vaccination, patient-reported adverse events were typical of those reported in the general population. Most patients were willing to temporarily discontinue DMARDs to improve vaccine efficacy. The relatively low frequency of rheumatic disease flare requiring medications was reassuring.
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