Although we can expect to learn much more, preliminary data are now available on the potential safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in rheumatology patients. The picture is likely to be nuanced, with not all types of immunosuppressive treatments having identical impacts on vaccine response. Rheumatologists should use caution in interpreting early reports, while continuing…
One thing that became clear very quickly this past year was that the COVID-19 pandemic would change the way we deliver care to patients. What has not changed amid an evolving healthcare landscape is our driving focus to ensure our patients’ access to rheumatology care and the availability of state-of-the-art treatments. We know you share…
According to a recent cohort study, patients with inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases receiving rituximab therapy experience more severe COVID-19. Researchers also found an association between rituximab use and prolonged hospital stays.
According to the French newspaper, Le Monde, the French Assembly adopted the “mort pour le service de la République”—died in the service of the Republic—statute on May 27. President Emmanuel Macron says this new law is one way to support the families of personnel who die under exceptional circumstances, such as healthcare providers who died…
On May 20, with overwhelming support from Congress, President Biden signed legislation that addresses hate crimes committed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular emphasis on the increase in violence against Asian Americans. The law makes reporting hate crimes easier by ensuring reporting resources are available online in multiple languages. It also authorizes grants to state…
In a study of patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) and matched comparators with COVID-19 but without systemic ARDs, D’Silva et al. found COVID-19 patients with systemic ARDs may be at a higher risk of hospitalization, ICU admission and more than matched comparators.
Independence Day. I can’t wait. Generally, it’s not a holiday that carries a lot of meaning for me. Having grown up in New York and Boston, the smaller firework displays that take place in Baltimore fail to impress. Also, as a program director, the holiday falls in the middle of the new fellows’ first week…
In spring 2020, as it became obvious that COVID-19 wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, the leaders of the Rheumatology Research Foundation implemented an expedited process to distribute research funding beyond its typical awards program. This resulted in the Foundation awarding $1.65 million to fund five research studies that will look at the relationships between rheumatic…
More than 7 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine have been administered in the U.S.1 On Apr. 23, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recommended lifting the recommended pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine use following a thorough safety review. 2…
We know a large percentage of the U.S. population falls into a vaccine-hesitant group. In fact, only 60% of Americans plan to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to an article in The Atlantic.1 Given that rheumatology patients are among the vulnerable, we asked a handful of ACR/ARP members whether they have been vaccinated themselves and…