Safety and immunogenicity of inactivated COVID-19 vaccination in adult rheumatic patients in South China: a prospective study

Patients with rheumatic diseases (RD) are considered to be a high-risk population for infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The effectiveness of inactivated COVID-19 vaccinations (ICVs) was described as more effective than 95%. Despite this, no data on the immunogenicity and safety of the ICV in Han race stable RD patients in China. In this study, we sought to assess the safety and immunogenicity of the ICVs in RD patients in South China. A total of 80 adult stable RD patients were recruited. Following 14–35 days of immunization, cheiluminescence immunoassays (CLIA) were utilized to detect antibodies titers. An investigation into the relative parameters on the immunogenicity response to vaccination was carried out using logistic regression analysis. Compared to the HC group, the positive response of IgG and Nab in RD patients were lower than those in healthy control (HC) (P = .040 and P < .0001, respectively) after two doses of ICV were inoculated. The use of methotrexate (P = .016) and prednisolone (P = .018), and the level of red blood cell distribution width-C (RDW-C) (P = .035) and C-reactive protein (P = .015) were independently associated with lower rises in the magnitude of COVID-19 vaccine antibodies. No vaccine-related serious adverse reactions were observed in either group. After receiving two doses of ICVs, the production of protective antibodies in stable RD patients treated with immunosuppressive agents may decrease. It was discovered that ICVs were safe and well tolerated by RD patients.