Immunogenicity and Safety of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Patients With Rheumatic Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background Patients with rheumatic disease (RD) are at increased risk for COVID-19 infection. Large clinical trials have demonstrated efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. However, patients with RD are typically excluded from these trials. Objective The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the immunogenicity and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with RD. Methods We systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus to identify observational studies that examined the immunogenicity and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in RD patients. Information on disease, immunosuppressant, vaccine type, and proportion of patients with serologic response was obtained from each study. Results There were 25 eligible studies. The pooled rate of seroconversion was 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72-0.86). Compared with control subjects, the odds of seroconversion were significantly lower (odds ratio, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.05-0.24). Users of rituximab showed the lowest rate of seroconversion (0.39; 95% CI, 0.29-0.51) followed by mycophenolate (0.56; 95% CI, 0.40-71). On the other hand, users of interleukin 17 (0.94; 95% CI, 0.78-0.98) and tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (0.94; 95% CI, 0.84-0.98) showed high seroconversion rate. Regarding safety of COVID-19 vaccine, approximately 2% of patients reported severe adverse events and 7% reported diseases flares following the first or second dose. Conclusion Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 appears to be safe. Most RD patients developed humoral immune response following vaccination. However, the odds of seroconversion were significantly lower in RD patients compared with controls. This is likely driven by certain immunosuppressants including rituximab and mycophenolate. Future studies need to identify strategies to improve vaccine response in these patients.