ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

Abstract Number: 1949

Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Among Adolescents with Juvenile-onset Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases

amit ziv1, Merav Heshin-Bekenstein2, Ruby Haviv3, Shaye Kivity4, doron netzer5, shlomit yaron5, yoav schur5, tsipi egert6, yona egert6, yaron sela7, Philip Hashkes8 and Yosef Uziel9, 1Meir Hospital, Kfar Saba, Israel, 2Dana Dwek Children's Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center Israel, Binyamina, Israel, 3Meir Medical Center, Ra'Anana, Israel, 4Meir Medical Center, Kefar Saba, Israel, 5Community Medical Services Division, Clalit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel, 6Inbar, NPO, Ramat Gan, Israel, 7The Research Center for Internet Psychology, School of Communications, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel, 8Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, 9Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba; Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Kfar Saba, Israel

Meeting: ACR Convergence 2022

Keywords: ,

Session Information

Date: Monday, November 14, 2022

Title: Pediatric Rheumatology – Clinical Poster III: Other

Session Type: Poster Session D

Session Time: 1:00PM-3:00PM

Background/Purpose: Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents with juvenile-onset inflammatory rheumatic diseases (IRD) is unknown. Several studies suggested attenuated immunogenicity in patients with IRD. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in preventing COVID-19 infection in adolescents with juvenile-onset IRD compared to controls without immune rheumatic disease.

Methods: We used data from Clalit Health Services, the largest healthcare organization in Israel, to conduct an observational cohort study from February to December 2021, involving adolescents 12–18 years-old, diagnosed with IRD. Study outcomes included documented COVID-19 infection in relation to vaccination status and immunomodulatory therapy. We estimated vaccine effectiveness as one minus the risk ratio. Adolescents without immune rheumatic disease, 12–18 years-old, served as controls.

Results: A total of 1,639 adolescents with IRD (juvenile idiopathic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or familial Mediterranean fever) were included and compared to 524,471 adolescents in the same age range. There was no difference in COVID-19 infection rates after the second dose of vaccine for those with IRD and controls (2.1% vs. 2.1% respectively, p=0.99). The estimated vaccine effectiveness for adolescents with IRD was 76.3% after the first dose, 94.8% after the second and 99.2% after the third dose.

Conclusion: We found that the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine is effective against COVID-19 infection in adolescents with IRD, similar to controls without immune rheumatic disease. Immunomodulatory therapy did not affect its effectiveness. These results can encourage adolescents with IRD to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Disclosures: a. ziv, None; M. Heshin-Bekenstein, None; R. Haviv, None; S. Kivity, AbbVie/Abbott, AstraZeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Janssen, Pfizer, Roche, Eli Lilly; d. netzer, None; s. yaron, None; y. schur, None; t. egert, None; y. egert, None; y. sela, None; P. Hashkes, None; Y. Uziel, None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

ziv a, Heshin-Bekenstein M, Haviv R, Kivity S, netzer d, yaron s, schur y, egert t, egert y, sela y, Hashkes P, Uziel Y. Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Among Adolescents with Juvenile-onset Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2022; 74 (suppl 9). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/effectiveness-of-the-bnt162b2-mrna-covid-19-vaccine-among-adolescents-with-juvenile-onset-inflammatory-rheumatic-diseases/. Accessed .

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/effectiveness-of-the-bnt162b2-mrna-covid-19-vaccine-among-adolescents-with-juvenile-onset-inflammatory-rheumatic-diseases/