Study Finds COVID-19 Vaccine Safe for Patients with IBD

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was safe and effective among patients with inflammatory bowel disease as well as patients on immunosuppressive therapies, according to the study report published in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

“Our findings provide reassurance that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine is safe and well tolerated among individuals with IBD, which may help to combat vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine confidence,” the authors wrote.

The researchers obtained data for vaccine-related adverse events (AEs) and postvaccination effects from 3,316 participants in the PREVENT-COVID (Partnership to Report Effectiveness of Vaccination in populations Excluded from iNitial Trials of COVID) study, a prospective, observational cohort study. Through questionnaires from individuals with IBD after receiving at least 1 COVID-19 vaccine, the researchers assessed localized and systemic reactions to the vaccine, disease flares, and outcomes based on vaccine type and IBD medication type.

The most common AEs after vaccination were injection site tenderness (68%) and fatigue (46% after dose 1, 68% after dose 2); severe symptoms were less common. “Prior COVID-19 infection, female sex, and vaccine type were associated with severe systemic reactions to dose 1, while age <50 years, female sex, vaccine type, and antitumor necrosis factor and vedolizumab use were associated with severe systemic reactions to dose 2,” the report stated.

The findings revealed that the overall rates of IBD flare postvaccination were as low as 2%.

—Priyam Vora

Reference:
Weaver KN, Zhang X, Dai X. Impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on inflammatory bowel disease activity and development of vaccine-related adverse events: results from PREVENT-COVID. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2022;28(10): 1497–1505. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ibd/izab302