Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Mahatma Gandhi Mission Medical College, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Neurology, Manchester Centre for Clinical Neurosciences, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Salford, UK.
NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre, Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, Leeds, UK; Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, Southport, UK.
Division of Rheumatology, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Rheumatology Department, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Rheumatology Department, Saint-Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon; Rheumatology Department, Hotel-Dieu de France Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon.
Department of Clinical Immunology, Medical Faculty, University Hospital "Lozenetz", Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital, National Medical Center "La Raza", Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Jacaranda S/N, Col. La RaCa, Del. Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Mexico.
Departamento de Reumatología Hospital de Especialidades Dr. Antonio Fraga Mouret, Centro Médico Nacional La Raza, IMSS, Mexico City, Mexico.
Department of Rheumatology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia; Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Division of Rheumatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital Zürich, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; National Institute for Health Research Manchester Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Department of Rheumatology, Salford Royal Hospital, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Salford, UK .
Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.
Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Department of Rheumatology, Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UK; Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India; City Hospital, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Division of Musculoskeletal and Dermatological Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK .
Centre for Rheumatic Diseases, King's College London, London, UK; Rheumatology Department, King's College Hospital, London, UK.
OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 vaccination in autoimmune diseases (COVAD) study aimed to assess short-term COVID-19 vaccination-related adverse events (AEs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.
METHODS: An online self-reported questionnaire (March-December 2021) was used to capture data related to COVID-19 vaccination-related AEs in RA, other autoimmune rheumatic diseases (AIRDs) (excluding RA and inflammatory myositis), non-rheumatic autoimmune diseases (nrAIDs), and healthy controls (HCs). Descriptive and multivariable regression analyses were performed.
RESULTS: Of the 9462 complete respondents, 14.2% (n = 1347) had been diagnosed with RA who had a mean (standard deviation) age of 50.7 (13.7) years, and 74.2% were women, and 49.3% were Caucasian. In total, 76.9% and 4.2% of patients with RA reported minor and major AEs, respectively. Patients with active and inactive RA had similar AE and hospitalization frequencies. Overall, AEs were reported more frequently by BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 recipients and less frequently by BBV152 recipients compared with the rest. Major AE and hospitalization frequencies were similar across recipients of different vaccines. Patients receiving methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine reported fewer minor AEs than those patients not on them. Compared with HCs and patients with other AIRDs, patients with RA reported similar total AEs, overall minor AEs, and hospitalizations. Compared with nrAIDs, patients with RA reported lower frequencies of overall AEs, minor AEs (both OR = 0.7; 95%CI = 0.5-0.9), and injection site pain (OR = 0.6; 95%CI = 0.5-0.8) with similar major AE and hospitalization frequencies.
CONCLUSION: Despite the differences in AE frequency across different COVID-19 vaccines, all were well tolerated in patients with RA and were comparable to HCs providing reassurance to the safety of COVID-19 vaccination.
Oxford University Press, 2023. Vol. 62, no 7, p. 2366-2376
Adverse effects, COVID-19, autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, vaccination
National Institution for HealthResearch Manchester Biomedical Research Centre Funding Scheme