This announcement follows European authorization  of anakinra for certain patients with COVID-19 pneumonia at the end of 2021. medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group 11 November 2022: The coronavirus pandemic is affecting all healthcare professionals across the globe.

COVID-19 vaccination should be actively promoted for women with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, say researchers.

Discontinuation of mycophenolate mofetil for at least 10 days is associated with an improved antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination among people with rheumatic diseases, research suggests.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis with tixagevimab and cilgavimab may be an effective strategy to prevent symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection among people with rheumatic diseases treated with rituximab, suggest findings from a real-world study.

The proportion of people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases experiencing severe COVID-19 has declined since the beginning of the pandemic, particularly during the recent Omicron wave, US researchers report.

Findings from three studies provide further support for the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in young people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

Holding methotrexate treatment for 2 weeks following administration of a booster dose of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 significantly improves the humoral immune response to vaccination, suggest findings from a randomized controlled trial.

Pausing methotrexate only after the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine may provide the best balance between antibody response and risk for flare, findings from two randomized controlled trials suggest.

The incidence and clinical features of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children were similar during the delta wave of COVID-19 to those observed during the first year of the pandemic among unvaccinated children and adolescents, Danish research suggests.

SARS-CoV-2 infection may be a trigger for a relapse of immune thrombocytopenia.

Research from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance has identified a number of factors, including diagnosis and vaccine type, that are associated with flare risk following vaccination among people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

At the EULAR 2022 Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, two experts debated whether COVID-19 will have a lasting effect on rheumatology clinical practice.

People on immunomodulatory therapy have similar rates of breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection to healthy controls, with a reduced risk seen in those with prior infection or seroconversion after vaccination, research suggests.

Findings from two studies suggest that the type of immunomodulatory therapy, and whether agents are used as monotherapy or in combination, may impact how well patients with immune-mediated diseases respond to COVID-19 vaccines.

COVID-19 vaccination with inactivated virus vaccines is associated with an increased risk for flares among men with gout, and colchicine prophylaxis may help reduce this risk, researchers report.

Study findings presented at the British Society for Rheumatology 2022 Annual Conference in Glasgow, UK, provide support for pausing or delaying rituximab and considering other treatment options for people with rheumatoid arthritis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on rheumatology training and research opportunities, suggest findings from an international survey study by the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance.

Findings from the CoronavRheum trial suggest that suspension of methotrexate for 2 weeks after each dose of the Sinovac inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine may improve antibody response rates to vaccination among people with rheumatoid arthritis.

People with gout, particularly women, may have an elevated risk for COVID-19 diagnosis and related death, suggest the results of a population-based study reported in The Lancet Rheumatology .

Study findings suggest that mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have good short-term safety and immunogenicity profiles in adolescents with juvenile-onset rheumatic diseases.