Nearly 30% of patients with lupus show low response to COVID-19 vaccine
How important is the third COVID vaccine dose…
According to data published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, about 29% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus demonstrate a low response to the COVID-19 vaccine, with immunosuppression therapy associated with decreased protection.
“Patients on certain immunosuppression have a blunted effect to the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Peter M. Izmirly, MD, of the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. “This study focused on patients only with systemic lupus erythematosus and showed that a lower response to the vaccine was independently associated with being on any immunosuppressive agent, with the exception of antimalarials such as hydroxychloroquine.”
According to the researchers, 28.8% of patients with SLE demonstrated an IgG response below that of the lowest control — less than 100 units/ml. In their logistic regression analyses, the researchers found that any immunosuppressant or prednisone use, and an average anti-dsDNA level before vaccination, were associated with decreased vaccine responses.
But, thankfully, just 11.4% of patients experienced a disease flare following vaccination. Among the reported flares, 1.3% were severe.
“Overall, the proportion of patients who flared was low, and severe SLE flares were rare,” Izmirly said. “The results of this work are reassuring regarding the safety of initial vaccination and suggest further studies are needed to assess efficacy and safety of booster vaccination in patients with suboptimal responses to the standard vaccination regimen.”
I am glad I already took my third COVID-19 vaccine dose – it seems really necessary. Do you want to know if you are eligible for a third dose too? Check my blog about this matter to find out!
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