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Practice Guideline
. 2021 Jul;73(7):1093-1107.
doi: 10.1002/art.41734. Epub 2021 May 24.

American College of Rheumatology Guidance for COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients With Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases: Version 1

Jeffrey R Curtis  1 , Sindhu R Johnson  2 , Donald D Anthony  3 , Reuben J Arasaratnam  4 , Lindsey R Baden  5 , Anne R Bass  6 , Cassandra Calabrese  7 , Ellen M Gravallese  5 , Rafael Harpaz  8 , Rebecca E Sadun  9 , Amy S Turner  10 , Eleanor Anderson Williams  11 , Ted R Mikuls  12
Affiliations
Practice Guideline

American College of Rheumatology Guidance for COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients With Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases: Version 1

Jeffrey R Curtis et al. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: To provide guidance to rheumatology providers on the use of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines for patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs).

Methods: A task force was assembled that included 9 rheumatologists/immunologists, 2 infectious disease specialists, and 2 public health physicians. After agreeing on scoping questions, an evidence report was created that summarized the published literature and publicly available data regarding COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and safety, as well as literature for other vaccines in RMD patients. Task force members rated their agreement with draft consensus statements on a 9-point numerical scoring system, using a modified Delphi process and the RAND/University of California Los Angeles Appropriateness Method, with refinement and iteration over 2 sessions. Consensus was determined based on the distribution of ratings.

Results: Despite a paucity of direct evidence, 74 draft guidance statements were developed by the task force and agreed upon with consensus to provide guidance for use of the COVID-19 vaccines in RMD patients and to offer recommendations regarding the use and timing of immunomodulatory therapies around the time of vaccination.

Conclusion: These guidance statements, made in the context of limited clinical data, are intended to provide direction to rheumatology health care providers on how to best use COVID-19 vaccines and to facilitate implementation of vaccination strategies for RMD patients.

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References

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