Nearly one third of lupus patients in one study had low responses to COVID-19 vaccines

 

Maybe they are more likely to need booster shots?

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/933584

 

 News Release 2-Nov-2021
Reports and Proceedings
American College of Rheumatology

 

New research presented this week at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, shows that nearly 30% of patients with lupus in a multi-ethnic and multi-racial study had a low response to the new COVID-19 vaccines (Abstract #1420).

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Researchers found that the patients medications mattered: lower vaccine response was associated with use of prednisone in combination with at least one immunosuppressant drug, use of prednisone alone, use of a combination of two immunosuppressants, or use of mycophenolate mofetil or mycophenolic acid. People with SLE who had a normal anti-dsDNA antibody level before vaccination had a lower response, as well as those who received the Jansen/Johnson & Johnson brand vaccine.
However, taking an antimalarial drug was associated with a more positive response to the vaccine. Taking an antimalarial or no medication or having an elevated anti-dsDNA before vaccination independently predicted a positive response to the shots.

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“The data from our group and others have shown that overall disease activity did not change after vaccination. Our study also showed that severe flares were rare. Most flares were mild to moderate and manageable.

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