Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct:55:103189.
doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103189. Epub 2021 Aug 2.

Patient-reported safety and tolerability of the COVID-19 vaccines in persons with rare neuroimmunological diseases

Itay Lotan  1 , Gabriela Romanow  2 , Michael Levy  2
Affiliations

Patient-reported safety and tolerability of the COVID-19 vaccines in persons with rare neuroimmunological diseases

Itay Lotan et al. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 vaccines are currently recommended for people with rare neuroimmunological diseases such as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), MOG-antibody disease (MOGAD), and transverse myelitis. However, the safety profile of the vaccines in this population is uncertain.

Objective: To report real-world safety data of the COVID-19 vaccines in persons with rare neuroimmunological diseases.

Methods: An anonymous survey was distributed to patients recruited on social media. Participants answered general demographic and disease-related questions, and specific questions about their experiences with the COVID-19 vaccines.

Results: 438 participants completed the questionnaire. The median age was 51 (range 18-82 years); 366 were female (83.6%); 102 (23.3%) had associated comorbidities, and 354 (80.1%) were treated with immunotherapies. 242 participants (55.3%) reported a diagnosis of NMOSD; 99 (22.6%) had MOGAD; 79 (18%) had transverse myelitis. 239 participants (66.2%) were younger than 55 years of age. 138 participants (31.5%) reported earlyadverse events. Of these, 93 (67.4%) were < 55 years old, and 45 (32.6%) were > 55 years old (p=0.0086). The most common adverse events were local reactions, including pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, reported by 155 participants (35.4%). 73 participants (16.7%) reported new or worsening neurological symptoms following the vaccination. Most symptoms occurred within the first week after vaccination and resolved within three days.

Conclusions: This survey indicates an overall favorable safety and tolerability profile of the COVID-19 vaccines among persons with rare neuroimmunological diseases. Longer-term studies are warranted to confirm these data.

Keywords: COVID-19; MOGAD; NMOSD; Safety; Tolerability; Vaccine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

References

    1. Mondal Ritwick, Deb Shramana, Shome Gaurav, Ganguly Upasana, Lahiri Durjoy, Benito-Leon Julian. COVID-19 and emerging spinal cord complications: A systematic review. Mult. Scler. Relat. Disord. 2021;51 doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.102917. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. MS . 2021. COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) and MS.https://mssociety.org.il/en/covid-19-mrna-vaccines-pfizer-biontech-and-m...
    1. MS . 2021. COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance for People with MS.https://www.msaustralia.org.au/about-ms/covid-19-and-ms/covid-19-vaccina...
    1. MS . 2021. COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance for People Living with MS.https://www.nationalmssociety.org/coronavirus-covid-19-information/multi...
    1. MS . 2021. Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Authorized in the USA.