Infection News

A single dose of Evusheld appears effective at preventing COVID-19 infection, without notable safety concerns, in patients at risk for infection or vaccine nonresponse, according to data published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A fourth dose of a heterologous mRNA COVID-19 vaccine produced a “remarkable” humoral response in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases who had a poor response to a third homologous dose, according to data published in Rheumatology.

The Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was more likely to elicit a stronger response in patients with varying degrees of immunosuppression than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to data published in JAMA Network Open.

Most patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases who had weakened responses to a standard vaccine series for COVID-19 mounted a serological response to a third dose, according to data published in Arthritis and Rheumatology.

The FDA has authorized revisions to Evusheld dosing guidelines, and now recommends repeat dosing every 6 months, with 300 mg of tixagevimab and 300 mg cilgavimab in cases where patients require ongoing shielding from COVID-19.

Systemic rheumatic disease flares requiring therapy changes after COVID-19 vaccination appear to be uncommon, according to data published in Rheumatology.

Cases of Kawasaki disease dropped 28% during the COVID-19 pandemic and remained low following implementation of prevention efforts, including mask mandates and school closures, according to data published in JAMA Network Open.

Data from U.S. and European COVID-19 registries of patients with rheumatic diseases have yielded actionable information to help rheumatologists manage patients with the virus, according to data presented at EULAR 2022 Congress.

Patients with immune-mediated inflammatory disease and COVID-19 who are older and have pulmonary or cardiovascular comorbidities demonstrate increased hospitalization and death, according to data presented at EULAR 2022 Congress.

Although the future role for rheumatologists in treating patients with long COVID is still uncertain, patient validation and empathy will be key parts of the equation, according to a speaker at EULAR 2022 Congress.