Increased influenza vaccination rates in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases during the Covid-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Fragoulis, G.; Grigoropoulos, Ioannis; Mavrea, Evgenia; Arida, Aikaterini; Bournia, Vassiliki-Kalliopi; Evangelatos, Gerasimos; Fragiadaki, Kalliopi; Karamanakos, Anastasios; Kravvariti, Evrydiki; Panopoulos, Stylianos; Παππά, Μαρία; Thomas, Konstantinos; Tektonidou, Maria G; Paraskevis, Dimitrios; Vassilopoulos, Dimitrios; Sfikakis, Petros P.

doi:10.1007/s00296-021-04817-3

Cited by 19 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Nocebo effect is an increasingly recognized problem in patients with autoimmune diseases [27], which is more pronounced during COVID-19 era [17]. Noteworthy, earlier study from our department showed that despite influenza vaccination rates increased amid COVID-19 pandemic, there is still room for further improvement [28]. Besides, Felten et al showed earlier this year that willingness for vaccination was higher in patients who received influenza or pneumococcal vaccine over the last years [10].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

COVID-19 vaccine safety and nocebo-prone associated hesitancy in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2021

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

COVID-19 vaccine safety and nocebo-prone associated hesitancy in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2021

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“…Groups more susceptible to COVID-19 may be more prone to vaccine hesitancy [ 24 ]. However, one study has shown that since the onset of the pandemic, patients with AIRD have been more diligent in getting their influenza vaccines [ 25 ]. Such behavior is encouraging and we hope that the encouraging results from our study help patients overcome any hesitancy and get themselves protected at the earliest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safety of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and the BBV152 vaccines in 724 patients with rheumatic diseases: a post-vaccination cross-sectional survey

Cherian¹,

Paul²,

Ahmed

et al. 2021

Rheumatol Int

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Patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal (RMD) diseases may be at higher risks for COVID-19 infection. Data on the safety of the adenoviral vector-borne ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and the heat-inactivated BBV152 Vaccines in this group are limited. 724 patients with RMD who had received at least one dose of either the ChAdOx1 or the BBV152 were audited to find out post-vaccination adverse effect (AE) or disease flares. The AE rates in patients with autoimmune rheumatic disease (AIRD) were compared with those with non-AIRD RMDs. The mean age of the cohort was 59.9 (± 10.43) years with a female ( n = 581; 80.24%) majority. 523 (70.8%) had AIRD. The ChAdOx1 and the BBV152 vaccines were received by 624 (86.18%) and 77 (10.63%), respectively. 23 (3.17%) were unaware of which vaccine they had received. 238 (32.87%) of patients had at least one comorbidity. 436 (60.22%) participants [306 (59.64%) of those with AIRD and 130 (61.61%) with other RMDs] had at least one adverse effect (AE). Four patients reported flare of arthritis that resolved within 5 days. No patient had any severe AE or required hospitalization. All AEs were self-limiting. Both the ChAdOx1 and the BBV152 vaccines appear safe in RMDs. AEs do not differ between patients with AIRD or non-AIRD. This information can help negate vaccine hesitancy amongst all stakeholders. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00296-021-04917-0.

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“…A few of these studies investigated the rate of vaccination also in relation to gender [14,26,[28][29][30][31]34,37], age [14,[26][27][28]30,31,34,37], concomitant medical therapies [14,[28][29][30]37], disease duration and comorbidities [26,30,31,37], referral by a physician, indication for vaccination, educational levels [14,37] and knowledge attitude towards vaccination [14,27,29,31,34], vaccination settings such as rural vs. urban [14] and concomitant vaccination campaigns aimed to improve the vaccination rate [26,32,33,35], however these outcomes were variably reported.…”

Section: Vaccine Coverage Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of the studies found through the systematic review on the vaccine coverage also investigated reasons for low rates and possible improvement strategies. For what concern the factors mainly affecting the vaccination uptake, there were the older age, the recommendation by physicians, and biological therapy [14,[26][27][28][29][30][31]34,37]. Also, awareness and favorable attitude toward vaccination was a positive predictor for vaccination, but not the level of education [14,27,29,31,34].…”

Section: Improving Vaccine Coverage In Autoimmune Patients and In Ssc Patientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flu and Pneumococcal Vaccine Coverage in Scleroderma Patients Still Need to Be Prompted: A Systematic Review

et al. 2021

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Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma, SSc) is an autoimmune connective tissue disease characterized by excessive production of collagen and multiorgan involvement. Scleroderma patients are at increased risk of influenza complications and pneumonia; thus, vaccinations are recommended. This systematic review evaluated the influenza and pneumococcus vaccination coverage for SSc patients. We included all studies from Pubmed reporting on influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rate in Scleroderma patients up to May 2021. The 14 studies thus selected identified a suboptimal vaccination rate in autoimmune and SSc patients, ranging from 28 to 59% for the flu vaccine, and from 11 to 58% for the pneumo vaccine in absence of specific vaccination campaigns, variously considering also other variables such as age, gender, vaccination settings, and possible vaccination campaigns. We also considered the reasons for low coverage and the approaches that might increase the vaccination rates. A lack of knowledge about the importance of vaccination in these patients and their doctors underlined the need to increase the awareness for vaccination in this patients’ category. Current guidelines recommend vaccination in elderly people and people affected by particular conditions that widely overlap with SSc, yet autoimmune diseases are not always clearly mentioned. Improving this suboptimal vaccination rate with clear guidelines is crucial for SSc patients and for clinicians to immunize these categories based principally on the pathology, prior to the age. Recommendations by the immunologist and the direct link to the vaccine providers can highly improve the vaccine coverage.

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Increased influenza vaccination rates in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases during the Covid-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

Cited by 19 publications

References 26 publications

COVID-19 vaccine safety and nocebo-prone associated hesitancy in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases: a cross-sectional study

COVID-19 vaccine safety and nocebo-prone associated hesitancy in patients with systemic rheumatic diseases: a cross-sectional study

Safety of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and the BBV152 vaccines in 724 patients with rheumatic diseases: a post-vaccination cross-sectional survey

Flu and Pneumococcal Vaccine Coverage in Scleroderma Patients Still Need to Be Prompted: A Systematic Review

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