Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in patients taking immunosuppressants

Chen Shen; Malcolm Risk; Elena Schiopu; Salim S Hayek; Tiankai Xie; Lynn Holevinski; Cem Akin; Gary Freed; Lili Zhao

doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-222045

Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in patients taking immunosuppressants

Ann Rheum Dis. 2022 Jun;81(6):875-880. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-222045. Epub 2022 Feb 23.

Authors

Chen Shen¹, Malcolm Risk¹, Elena Schiopu², Salim S Hayek³, Tiankai Xie¹, Lynn Holevinski⁴, Cem Akin⁵, Gary Freed⁶, Lili Zhao⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
² Department of Rheumatology, University of Michigan Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
³ Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
⁴ Data Office for Clinical and Translational Research, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
⁵ Division of Allergy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
⁶ Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
⁷ Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA zhaolili@med.umich.edu.

Abstract

Objectives: We intended to assess the effectiveness of all three US Food and Drug Administration approved COVID-19 vaccines at preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalisation in a large cohort of individuals on immunosuppressants for a diverse range of conditions.

Methods: We studied the effectiveness of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech), mRNA-1273 (Moderna) and Ad26.COV2.S (Johnson & Johnson-Janssen) vaccines among individuals who take immunosuppressants (including disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and glucocorticoids) by comparing vaccinated (n=97688) and unvaccinated (n=42094) individuals in the Michigan Medicine healthcare system from 1 January to 7 December 2021, using Cox proportional hazards modelling with time-varying covariates.

Results: Among vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, taking immunosuppressants increased the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (adjusted HR (aHR)=2.17, 95% CI 1.69 to 2.79 for fully vaccinated and aHR=1.40, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.83 for unvaccinated). Among individuals taking immunosuppressants, we found: (1) vaccination reduced the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (aHR=0.55, 95% CI 0.39 to 0.78); (2) the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines were highly effective at reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (n=2046, aHR=0.59, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.91 for BNT162b2; n=2064, aHR=0.52, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.82 for mRNA-1273); (3) with a smaller sample size (n=173), Ad26.COV2.S vaccine protection did not reach statistical significance (aHR=0.34, 95% CI 0.09 to 1.30, p=0.17); and (4) receiving a booster dose reduced the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (aHR=0.42, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.76).

Conclusions: The mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2 vaccines are effective in individuals who take immunosuppressants. However, individuals who are vaccinated but on immunosuppressants are still at higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalisation than the broader vaccinated population. Booster doses are effective and crucially important for individuals on immunosuppressants.

Keywords: COVID-19; autoimmune diseases; autoimmunity; epidemiology; vaccination.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Ad26COVS1
BNT162 Vaccine
COVID-19 Vaccines*
COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Immunosuppressive Agents
SARS-CoV-2

Substances

Ad26COVS1
COVID-19 Vaccines
Immunosuppressive Agents
BNT162 Vaccine

Grants and funding

R01 AI158543/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States