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
. 2023 Apr;112(4):794-801.
doi: 10.1111/apa.16652. Epub 2023 Jan 6.

The safety of COVID-19 vaccination in immunocompromised children and young adults with immune-mediated inflammatory disease

Benjamin Sahn  1   2 , Ying Lu  1   2 , Joyce S Hui-Yuen  1   3 , Joanna Fishbein  4 , Beth S Gottlieb  1   3 , Barbara A Eberhard  1   3 , Heather M Walters  1   3
Affiliations

The safety of COVID-19 vaccination in immunocompromised children and young adults with immune-mediated inflammatory disease

Benjamin Sahn et al. Acta Paediatr. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Aim: To assess safety of COVID-19 vaccination in paediatric patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disease (IMID).

Methods: Subjects of 5-21 years of age with IMID who received at least one COVID-19 vaccine completed electronic surveys after each vaccine to assess side effects within 1 week of vaccination, current medications and COVID-19 testing after vaccination. Charts were reviewed for COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction and IgG response to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein results and for disease flare during the study period.

Results: Among 190 enrolled subjects, 71% were female, with median age 17 (range 6-21) years. The most common diagnosis was juvenile idiopathic arthritis/rheumatoid arthritis (55%). 78% of subjects were taking immunosuppressive medication. At least one side effect was reported in 65% of subjects after any dose of the vaccine; with side effects in 38%, 53% and 55% of subjects after the first, second and third vaccine doses, respectively. The most common side effects were injection site pain (59%), fatigue (54%) and headache (39%). No anaphylaxis or myocarditis was reported. Three subjects (2%) experienced disease flare.

Conclusion: In our cohort of paediatric patients with IMID, observed side effects were found to be mild and disease flare rates were found to be low following COVID-19 vaccination.

Keywords: autoimmune disease; coronavirus; immunosuppressive therapy; vaccination.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No financial support was used for this study, and the authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Percent of subjects with SPECIFIC side effects across ALL doses of COVID vaccination (n = 190). Across ALL doses of COVID‐19 vaccination, the most common side effects after vaccination in subjects with paediatric immune‐mediated inflammatory disease were injection site pain, fatigue and headache. GI = gastrointestinal.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Percent of subjects with SPECIFIC side effects after EACH dose of COVID vaccination. In subjects with paediatric immune‐mediated inflammatory disease, all side effects were more common after the second and third dose of COVID‐19 vaccination compared with after the first dose of vaccination. GI = gastrointestinal.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Viget N, Vernier‐Massouille G, Salmon‐Ceron D, Yazdanpanah Y, Colombel JF. Opportunistic infections in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: prevention and diagnosis. Gut. 2008;57(4):549‐558. - PubMed
    1. Sundbaum JK, Arkema EV, Bruchfeld J, Jonsson J, Askling J, Baecklund E. Tuberculosis in biologic‐naïve patients with rheumatoid arthritis: risk factors and tuberculosis characteristics. J Rheumatol. 2021;48(8):1243‐1250. - PubMed
    1. Pego‐Reigosa JM, Nicholson L, Pooley N, et al. The risk of infections in adult patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: systematic review and meta‐analysis. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021;60(1):60‐72. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Polack FP, Thomas SJ, Kitchin N, et al. Safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID‐19 vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(27):2603‐2615. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baden LR, el Sahly HM, Essink B, et al. Efficacy and safety of the mRNA‐1273 SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(5):403‐416. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources