Fifth Update of ACR COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance Supports Fourth Doses for High-Risk Rheumatic Disease Patients

Atlanta, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The American College of Rheumatology has issued an updated version of its COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Guidance for Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases that includes support for supplemental and booster doses (often patients’ third or fourth doses), recommendations for timing of those injections in relation to immunomodulatory medication use, and revised guidance for pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis with monoclonal antibody treatment. 

The guidance recommends that all rheumatic disease patients receive a booster dose after their primary vaccine series, as recommended by the CDC. Patients who are expected to have mounted an inadequate vaccine response due to using immunosuppressant treatments (as outlined in Table 3 of the guidance), should take a third mRNA vaccine dose as part of their primary vaccination series prior to their booster, for a total of four doses. These recommendations for primary vaccination, supplemental dosing, and booster doses apply regardless of whether patients have experienced natural COVID-19 infection. 

The CDC currently recommends third mRNA doses be taken at least 28 days after the first two mRNA doses and booster doses be taken at least five months after completion of the primary vaccination series. Based on the availability of evidence, patients should try to take the same mRNA vaccine for their third dose but may use either if the initial brand is unknown or unavailable. No additional primary shot for the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine is approved at this time, but a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine is recommended at least two months following the primary J&J shot. 

“It remains important for rheumatology providers to assess the vaccination status of all patients with rheumatic diseases,” said Dr. Jeffrey Curtis, Chair of the ACR COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance Task Force. “Initially, it might have been acceptable to just ask a patient if they have been vaccinated. There is now more nuance with supplemental and booster dose recommendations that should prompt us to ask patients not only whether they have been vaccinated, but with what, how many times, and how recently.”

The guidance also continues to support the use of pre-exposure and post-exposure monoclonal antibody prophylaxis for high-risk autoimmune and inflammatory rheumatic disease patients when/if available for use, noting that the FDA has limited the use of some monoclonal antibody therapies in light of the current conditions. For example, neither bamlanivimab and etesevimab (administered together) nor casirivimab and imdevimab, are licensed nor available under emergency use authorization (EUA) given their lack of activity against the Omicron variant, the dominant strain circulating in the U.S.

The updated recommendations can be found on the ACR website. Statements in bold are those that have been revised or added in the most current version of the document. These changes are also summarized in the Appendix Table. An important set of guiding principles, foundational assumptions and limitations are mentioned in the Supplemental Table. 

A peer-reviewed manuscript with additional details on the clinical studies, data, and discussion points that influenced the recommendations has been submitted for publication to Arthritis & Rheumatology. It will be made available on the ACR website once published. 

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About the American College of Rheumatology
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is an international medical society representing over 7,700 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals with a mission to empower rheumatology professionals to excel in their specialty. In doing so, the ACR offers education, research, advocacy, and practice management support to help its members continue their innovative work and provide quality patient care. Rheumatologists are experts in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of more than 100 different types of arthritis and rheumatic diseases.