Immunogenicity of repeat COVID-19 mRNA vaccinations in a patient with myasthenia gravis receiving mycophenolate, prednisone, and eculizumab

Vaccination can prevent infection and disease due to SARS-CoV-2. Early reports indicate that immune suppressed or immune compromised populations have reduced immune responses to US emergency use authorized (EUA) vaccines. Patients with autoimmune disorders are at risk for severe COVID-19, and are fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lisa C. Plymate, MD, Gregory Pepper, Maxwell P. Krist, David M. Koelle, MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-01-01
Series:Journal of Translational Autoimmunity
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589909021000344
Description
Summary:Vaccination can prevent infection and disease due to SARS-CoV-2. Early reports indicate that immune suppressed or immune compromised populations have reduced immune responses to US emergency use authorized (EUA) vaccines. Patients with autoimmune disorders are at risk for severe COVID-19, and are frequently immune suppressed related to therapy, the underlying disease, or both. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by antibodies that interrupt neuromuscular transmission. Chronic immune suppressive therapy is typically required. We report the case of a 74 year old woman with MG receiving mycophenolate, prednisone, and eculizumab in whom mRNA vaccination failed to elicit detectable circulating vaccine-specific IgG or IFN-γ T cell responses. Eculizumab was discontinued, and repeat vaccination with two doses of an alternative EUA mRNA vaccine led to circulating IgG specific for the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein, and to detectable S-specific T cell responses. While it is not known if these responses will protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection or disease, a repeat course of mRNA vaccination appears to be safe and was broadly immunogenic in this individual.
ISSN:2589-9090