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13-10-2021 | COVID-19 | News

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High overall response rates to COVID-19 vaccination in people taking JAK inhibitors

Author: Claire Barnard

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medwireNews: The majority of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or psoriatic arthritis (PsA) on Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor therapy produce an antibody response to vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, researchers report.

Raphaèle Seror (Université Paris-Saclay, France) and colleagues found that 88% of 113 participants from the French MAJIK-SFR Registry had detectable antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in March–July 2021, an average of 8.7 weeks after full vaccination. Most patients in the cohort were women (72%) with a diagnosis of RA (87%); the most commonly used JAK inhibitor was baricitinib (50%), followed by tofacitinib (27%) and upadacitinib (24%).

The study authors say that people treated with upadacitinib were less likely to generate an antibody response than those on baricitinib or tofacitinib, with response rates of 74% versus 91% and 97%, respectively. All of the nonresponders on baricitinib (n=5) or tofacitinib (n=1) were aged 65 years or older, whereas four of the seven nonresponders on upadacitinib were younger than 65 years.

“These results need to be confirmed in a prospective trial but suggest that in patients aged 65 years and older or treated with upadacitinib, or both, serological assessment might be recommended to guide clinical decision in non-responders,” write Seror et al in a comment published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

They note that “[n]o other parameters, including concomitant use of methotrexate, corticosteroids, dose of JAK inhibitor, disease activity, or type of vaccine were associated with non-response.”

medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2021 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group

13 October 2021: The coronavirus pandemic is affecting all healthcare professionals across the globe. Medicine Matters’ focus, in this difficult time, is the dissemination of the latest data to support you in your research and clinical practice, based on the scientific literature. We will update the information we provide on the site, as the data are published. However, please refer to your own professional and governmental guidelines for the latest guidance in your own country.

Lancet Rheumatol 2021; doi:10.1016/S2665-9913(21)00314-3

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