MDL doctor Esmerij van der Zanden is regularly asked in the consultation room what the influence of medication is on the effect of the COVID-19 vaccine. That’s why she tells more about it here!
Until recently, little was known about the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine in people with autoimmune diseases such as IBD. This changed in August 2021, when the results of a large Dutch study on this subject appeared in the medical journal The Lancet Rheumatology. Esmerij: “Many people with an autoimmune disease, including IBD patients, are treated with so-called immunosuppressive drugs. These drugs suppress the reactions of the immune system. This is necessary to keep their disease under control, but the question is what consequences this will have for the effectiveness of the vaccine against COVID-19. After all, the vaccine stimulates your immune system to make antibodies against the virus. When someone has produced sufficient antibodies through the vaccine, this should protect against (serious) COVID. However, does this also happen if you use medication that suppresses the immune system’s reactions? Amsterdam UMC and blood bank Sanquin have investigated this in a large national study.”
Just as many antibodies
Between April 2020 and March 2021, data was collected from 632 people with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatism and multiple sclerosis. In addition, 289 people without autoimmune diseases participated in the study. Esmerij: “The study did not include patients with IBD. Yet the study is also relevant to them. Eighty per cent of the 632 participants with an autoimmune disease were taking immunosuppressive drugs, including infliximab, adalimumab, prednisone or methotrexate. These drugs are also prescribed for IBD. This means that the study shows the effect of this medication on the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The antibodies of all participants were measured after the first or second COVID-19 vaccination. Most of the study participants received Pfizer or AstraZeneca, and a small proportion received Moderna. According to Esmerij, the results of the study are promising. “The research shows that most people treated with immune inhibitors have just as many antibodies in their blood as those who do not take these drugs. So that’s good news! Only people who receive Anti-B cell therapy make fewer antibodies, but this drug is never given for IBD. One drug for IBD, namely Crohn’s disease, is methotrexate. The study shows that people who use methotrexate make antibodies less quickly after the first vaccination than people who do not use this medicine. So it makes sense for this group to get their second or third injection on time.”
Research has shown that people with IBD produce sufficient antibodies after COVID-19 vaccination.
Esmerij van der Zanden
MDL-arts Ziekenhuis Amstelland
No less effective
Esmerij: “The British study partly examined the same drugs as the Dutch study. The results of the Dutch study are consistent with a recent British study among IBD patients taking immune inhibitors. This has also shown that people with IBD produce sufficient antibodies after COVID-19 vaccination. In conclusion, a COVID-19 vaccination does not appear to be less effective in people who use immunosuppressive medication!”
Do you like what you see? Share with a friend.
This site is registered on wpml.org as a development site.
Esmerij van der Zanden MDL-arts Ziekenhuis Amstelland