- A new study found 90 percent of people with weakened immune systems still make antibodies after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
- The study looked at people who take immunosuppressing drugs for chronic inflammaotry diseases like IBS or rheutmathoid arthritis.
- Patients receiving these drugs are at a greater risk of acquring the coronavirus and of more severe complications if they develop COVID-19.
New research published August 31 from the Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis finds COVID-19 vaccination stimulated antibody responses in nearly 90 percent of people with weakened immune systems due to chronic inflammatory disease (CID).
“What we found here is that the vast majority of immunocompromised patients with autoimmune diseases are able to mount antibody responses following COVID-19 vaccination. There’s clearly a benefit for this population,” co-senior author Dr. Alfred Kim, an assistant professor of medicine treating autoimmune conditions at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, said in a statement.
Immune-suppressing drugs are typically given to people with underlying autoimmune conditions or people who are recipients of organ transplants.
According to Dr. David Hirschwerk, an infectious disease specialist at Northwell Health in Manhasset, New York, the drugs are necessary but can leave people at risk of infection.
“These drugs are necessary to quiet an overactive immune system that could be harmful,” he told Healthline. “Unfortunately, this necessary treatment inhibits the capacity to mount as strong an immune response to vaccines compared to people not receiving immunosuppression.”
Patients receiving these drugs, he explained, are at greater risk of acquiring the coronavirus and more severe complications if they develop COVID-19.
Source: healthline