Key clinical point: Overall, COVID-19 vaccines were well tolerated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with the adverse event (AE) profile being comparable to that in control individuals; patients receiving methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine vs other immunosuppressants reporting fewer minor AE.
Major finding: At 7 days after vaccination, 76.9% of patients with RA reported AE, all being minor and comparable to those in the control group and similar between patients with active and inactive disease. Major AE were reported by 4.2% of patients with RA. Patients receiving methotrexate or hydroxychloroquine vs other immunosuppressants reported fewer minor AE (all P ≤ .05).
Study details: This was a cross-sectional survey-based study of 9462 respondents of an online self-reported questionnaire, including patients with RA (n = 1347), other autoimmune rheumatic diseases (n = 2305), non-rheumatic autoimmune diseases (n = 1079), and the control group (n = 4741) who received at least one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine.
Disclosures: This study did not receive any specific funding. Several authors reported receiving advisory board or speaker honoraria, consulting fees, research grant, or funding from various sources.
Source: Naveen R et al. COVID-19 vaccination in autoimmune diseases (COVAD) Study: Vaccine safety and tolerance in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford) . 2022 (Oct 31). Doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac624