Scientists from the Arthritis Foundation found some arthritis drugs may reduce the effectiveness of COVID vaccines.
The finding suggests that disease-modifying drugs used for arthritis may reduce the response of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.
The research is published on MedRxiv and was conducted by Dr. Alfred Kim et al.
In the study, the team tested 133 fully vaccinated people taking immunosuppressive medications.
They found that their antibody levels and ability to neutralize the virus were three times lower than in people not taking these medications.
However, most patients in the study were able to mount antibody responses in response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, which is reassuring.
No research on the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine in people taking immunosuppressive medications has been reported.
The team suggested patients ask their health care provider if they are likely to see benefits from additional vaccination.
They have not seen any safety signals in patients with autoimmune and rheumatic diseases from the COVID-19 vaccines, so there should be no concern for the third dose.
They added that it’s still unclear how much protection a third or fourth booster provides to immunocompromised patients, such as those with cancer, organ transplants and those taking immunosuppressive medications.
So, even if these patients do receive additional COVID vaccine doses, they should continue to take precautions such as physical distancing and wearing masks.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about drug combo that could effectively fight COVID-19, and vegetables and coffee could protect against COVID-19.
For more information about Covid, please see recent studies about hormone that could prevent COVID-19 death, and results showing breakthrough COVID infections very mild for vaccinated people.
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