ACR Meeting Abstracts

ACR Meeting Abstracts

  • Meetings
    • ACR Convergence 2024
    • ACR Convergence 2023
    • 2023 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • ACR Convergence 2022
    • ACR Convergence 2021
    • ACR Convergence 2020
    • 2020 ACR/ARP PRSYM
    • 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting
    • 2018-2009 Meetings
    • Download Abstracts
  • Keyword Index
  • Advanced Search
  • Your Favorites
    • Favorites
    • Login
    • View and print all favorites
    • Clear all your favorites
  • ACR Meetings

Abstract Number: 2036

Switch or Stay the Same? Preferences of People with Autoimmune Disease on Rituximab for Different Types of COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters

Todd Wilson1, Paul R. Fortin2, Ines Colmegna3, Sonia Theriault4, Nathalie Amiable5, Alexandra Godbout5 and Glen Hazlewood1, 1University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, 2Centre ARThrite - CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada, 3The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, QC, Canada, 4The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada, 5Centre ARThrite - CHU de Quebec - Universite Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada

Meeting: ACR Convergence 2023

Keywords: autoimmune diseases, COVID-19, health behaviors, Patient reported outcomes

  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
Session Information

Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Title: (2019–2038) Patient Outcomes, Preferences, & Attitudes Poster III

Session Type: Poster Session C

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose: COVID-19 vaccines are now being offered as regular boosters every 6-12 months for people with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, particularly for people on rituximab, where serological responses to vaccination are poor. We were interested in understanding the preferences of patients taking rituximab for a booster with the same messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine, versus a switch to a protein subunit vaccine.

Methods: We conducted a discrete-choice experiment (DCE) within a clinical trial comparing vaccine types for 4th (Trajectory A) and 5th (Trajectory B) doses in people with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, all of whom had received prior mRNA vaccines. In this open label, non-randomized, comparative trial, people could choose between an mRNA or protein subunit vaccine. In the DCE, people were asked to choose between two different vaccine types or “no vaccine” in a series of ten hypothetical questions, where the vaccine choices varied in terms of their effectiveness, likelihood of a flare, and type of vaccine (same (mRNA) versus switch to a protein subunit vaccine). The DCE was administered by computer in French and English at the two trial sites in Quebec, Canada. We used a hierarchal Bayes model with continuous levels to estimate average and individual part-worth utilities and attribute importance across the range of levels presented for the three attributes. We compared the preferences of people who chose the different vaccine types through a Wilcoxon rank-sum test on the median individual part-utility values.

Results: Among 78 people who agreed to participate, 69 (88%) completed the survey.Participants had an average age of 58 years, 78% were female, and 58% had above high school education. The type of autoimmune disease was rheumatoid arthritis (43%), ANCA associated vasculitis (32%), systemic lupus erythematosus (9%) and other (16%), with a median disease duration of 9 years. 65% of respondents had a prior COVID-19 infection at study entry. Of the 69 participants, 36 (52%) people chose an mRNA vaccine and 33 (48%) people chose a protein subunit vaccine. On average, people preferred to stay with the same vaccine type, rather than switch to a protein subunit vaccine. However, people would accept a protein subunit vaccine if it was associated with an 18% absolute increase in effectiveness, or a 6% absolute reduction in the risk of flare. People who chose the protein subunit vaccine placed a higher importance on vaccine effectiveness (p < 0.001) and lower importance on vaccine type (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: People with autoimmune diseases on rituximab who had received prior mRNA COVID-19 vaccines preferred to stay with mRNA vaccines for subsequent doses unless the new protein subunit vaccine was substantially more effective (~20%) or safe, although variability in preferences was found. This supports current approaches of booster immunizations with the same vaccine, and provides an estimate of what would be considered a worthwhile increase in effectiveness for high-risk patients to choose a different vaccine type.


Disclosures: T. Wilson: None; P. Fortin: AbbVie, 1, AstraZeneca, 1, 6, GlaxoSmithKlein(GSK), 1, 6, Roche-Genentech, 1; I. Colmegna: None; S. Theriault: None; N. Amiable: None; A. Godbout: None; G. Hazlewood: None.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Wilson T, Fortin P, Colmegna I, Theriault S, Amiable N, Godbout A, Hazlewood G. Switch or Stay the Same? Preferences of People with Autoimmune Disease on Rituximab for Different Types of COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2023; 75 (suppl 9). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/switch-or-stay-the-same-preferences-of-people-with-autoimmune-disease-on-rituximab-for-different-types-of-covid-19-vaccine-boosters/. Accessed .
  • Tweet
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

« Back to ACR Convergence 2023

ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/switch-or-stay-the-same-preferences-of-people-with-autoimmune-disease-on-rituximab-for-different-types-of-covid-19-vaccine-boosters/

Advanced Search

Your Favorites

You can save and print a list of your favorite abstracts during your browser session by clicking the “Favorite” button at the bottom of any abstract. View your favorites »

All abstracts accepted to ACR Convergence are under media embargo once the ACR has notified presenters of their abstract’s acceptance. They may be presented at other meetings or published as manuscripts after this time but should not be discussed in non-scholarly venues or outlets. The following embargo policies are strictly enforced by the ACR.

Accepted abstracts are made available to the public online in advance of the meeting and are published in a special online supplement of our scientific journal, Arthritis & Rheumatology. Information contained in those abstracts may not be released until the abstracts appear online. In an exception to the media embargo, academic institutions, private organizations, and companies with products whose value may be influenced by information contained in an abstract may issue a press release to coincide with the availability of an ACR abstract on the ACR website. However, the ACR continues to require that information that goes beyond that contained in the abstract (e.g., discussion of the abstract done as part of editorial news coverage) is under media embargo until 10:00 AM ET on November 14, 2024. Journalists with access to embargoed information cannot release articles or editorial news coverage before this time. Editorial news coverage is considered original articles/videos developed by employed journalists to report facts, commentary, and subject matter expert quotes in a narrative form using a variety of sources (e.g., research, announcements, press releases, events, etc.).

Violation of this policy may result in the abstract being withdrawn from the meeting and other measures deemed appropriate. Authors are responsible for notifying colleagues, institutions, communications firms, and all other stakeholders related to the development or promotion of the abstract about this policy. If you have questions about the ACR abstract embargo policy, please contact ACR abstracts staff at [email protected].

Wiley

  • Online Journal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Permissions Policies
  • Cookie Preferences

© Copyright 2025 American College of Rheumatology