Certain treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) — specifically, anti-CD20 antibody therapies and Gilenya (fingolimod) — are likely to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines for COVID-19, according to a new study.
“Highlighting groups who have mounted an inadequate vaccine response has already been helpful in guiding who should receive additional doses of the vaccine, and who may need to continue to take additional infection-prevention precautions over the winter,” Emma Tallantyre, co-author of the study and clinical senior lecturer in neurology at Cardiff University, said in a press release.
“We hope further work will allow us to individualize our management, to protect people with MS from COVID, while keeping their MS under control,” Tallantyre added.
The study, “COVID-19 Vaccine Response in People with Multiple Sclerosis,” was published in the Annals of Neurology.
Vaccines for COVID-19 work by training the body’s immune system to recognize the virus that causes the disease, allowing the body to more effectively repel the virus if it is encountered later on. Clinical trials have proven that vaccines can significantly lower the likelihood of getting seriously sick from COVID-19 in healthy people.
Over a dozen disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) are approved for MS, and they all work by reducing the activity of the immune system, which lessens the inflammation that drives MS — but could also dampen the effectiveness of vaccines.