mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines Immunogenic in Immunosuppressed Patients

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 8, 2021 (HealthDay News) — mRNA-based severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines appear to be immunogenic in patients receiving immunosuppressive medications for the management of chronic inflammatory disease (CID), according to a study published online Aug. 31 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Parakkal Deepak, M.B.B.S., from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues determined the immunogenicity of mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in a volunteer sample of adults with confirmed CID who were eligible for early COVID-19 vaccination and immunocompetent participants recruited among hospital employees. Antibody responses were assessed following the two-dose vaccination series.

The researchers found that 88.7 percent of 133 participants with CID and all 53 immunocompetent participants developed antibodies in response to mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination; numerically lower titers of anti-S IgG developed in some with CID. After vaccination, anti-S IgG antibody titers were lower in those with CID receiving versus those not receiving glucocorticoids; the geometric mean of anti-S IgG antibodies was 357 and 2,190 for those receiving and not receiving prednisone, respectively. Those receiving B-cell depletion therapy also had lower anti-S IgG antibody titers.

“Most patients with CID receiving immunosuppressive treatment were able to mount antibody responses, which provides justification for current recommendations for this population to be vaccinated,” the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Pfizer.

Abstract/Full Text