Autoimmune diseases and COVID-19 vaccines

Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system attacks the healthy body tissue within digestive track, joints, vasculature and other organ systems. This causes inflammation, pain, diminished mobility, fatigue, and other non-specific symptoms.  

Nearly 4% of the world’s population and 5-8% of U.S. is affected by an autoimmune diseases, the most common of which include type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, and psoriasis. 

There is no evidence that any vaccines cause flares of autoimmune diseases, used to say doctors. However, there is limited data available since individuals with autoimmune diseases were excluded from phase I–III vaccine trials. And it is known that immunizations could cause flare ups (see, eg, this study of 2020/2021 flu vaccines). Preliminary data from smaller studies and case reports after emergency-use-authorization for SARS-CoV-2 suggest there is a possibility.

A case of a white 55-year-old male who has been in sustained remission from rheumatoid arthritis for more than 2 years describes him developing an acute flare of his rheumatoid arthritis 12 h after the second BNT162b2 vaccination (similarly to flares observed after COVID-19 infection). The patient was treated with intra-articular steroids with rapid improvement, and he is once again in clinical remission.

23-year-old woman who developed acute reactive arthritis on her left knee joint after COVID-19 vaccination with Sinovac CoronaVac was back on her feet in 2 days, after she was administered a single intra-articular injection of 1 ml compound betamethasone.

A 20-year-old man with a history of multiple sclerosis experienced acute myocarditis after the third dose of SARS-COV-2 vaccine (AstraZeneca vaccine). He had received the first and second dose of the SARS-COV-2 vaccine (Sinopharm vaccine) 5 and 4 months before.

More recently published, 27 case reports from Israel, US and UK described 17 flares and 10 new onset immune-mediated diseases. 23/27 received the BNT - 162b2 vaccine, 2/27 the mRNA-1273 and 2/27 the ChAdOx1 vaccines. The mean age was 54.4 ± 19.2 years and 55% of cases were female.

A study that compared 26 people with autoimmune disorders aged 24 to 89 (Rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, Psoriatic Arthritis, Sarcoidosis, Lupus, etc; none had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 prior to vaccination) with 42 healthy controls. Patients with autoimmune diseases had a marginal propensity towards more vaccine side effects compared with healthy controls: mild fatigue and myalgia were more frequent  (53.8% vs 43.2% and 42.3% vs 31.6%) and so was headache (38.5% vs 35.1%). Fever, on the other hand, was completely absent in patients with inflammatory diseases while being reported by 13.5% of the healthy cohort. Arthralgia was comparable in both groups. 

Researchers from two different rheumatology departments in Israel monitored 491 patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRD) and compared their reactions to 99 healthy controls. Shortly after receiving the vaccine, 1.2% of those with AIIRD (six patients total, age range: 36 to 61) developed their first case of shingles compared to none of the controls. Four of the six affected individuals had stable rheumatoid arthritis, one had Sjögren’s syndrome and another one had undifferentiated connective disease. Notably, one patient developed Herpes zoster despite being vaccinated for it two years prior to the reported event.

Multiple cases of apparent secondary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), an unusual immune reaction triggered  after SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination have been reported and reached public attention. 

One case was actually a flareup for a patient with a past medical history of  autoimmune bleeding disorder Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). This patient received the first dose of SARS‐CoV‐2 mRNA‐1273 Moderna Covid‐19 vaccine 2 weeks prior to presentation. Three other individuals that experienced thrombocytopenia had known autoimmune conditions including hypothyroidism, Crohn's disease, or tested positive for anti‐thyroglobulin antibodies. Given that a small percentage of patients with lupus and antiphospholipid syndrome have been previously shown to display serum antibodies against PF-4 in association with thrombotic events constant vigilance is warranted.

Preliminary results of the COVID-19 Back to Normal study  show that some individuals with autoimmune diseases do experience flareups and higher frequency of adverse reactions such as enlarged lymph nodes. A smaller percentage of people claim they actually observed improvement in their autoimmune conditions after vaccinations You can help by submitting your observations about effects of vaccinations: https://forms.gle/5xs4XzFUFkhpa2TA9

REFERENCES

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