Repeated corona vaccines provide good protection for people with weakened immune systems
More than 50,000 Norwegians use a common type of medicine to suppress the immune system. A new study shows that these patients no longer have a high risk of severe covid-19.
TNF inhibitors are medicines that suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation in the body. These medicines can also weaken the effect of corona vaccines.
- We have been unsure how corona vaccines work over time for patients who use medication to suppress the immune system. We have also wondered how long these people should be considered to be in the risk group for serious corona disease. It is important for whether they should take vaccines every year, says doctor Hilde Ørbo.
She is a researcher at the REMEDY research center at Diakonhjemmet hospital. She has contributed to a new study on the topic.
Doctor and researcher at Diakonhjemmet, Hilde Ørbo, has investigated how patients with compromised immune systems get better protection through vaccination. (Photo: Nicolas Tourrenc / Diakonhjemmet hospital)
Medicine suppresses the immune system
The patients included in this study have autoimmune diseases of the joints and intestines.
In autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, the joints are attacked by the body's own immune system. In diseases of the intestine, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, the intestine is attacked by the immune system.
The patients in the study have such diseases and use TNF inhibitors to suppress the immune system.
More vaccine doses give better effect
The study shows that these patients have had their immune system strengthened after four vaccine doses. When the patient has also had a corona infection, the protection against new infections is even better.
This is good news for these patients who have had to take more vaccines than healthy people to achieve good protection.
- The immune system seems to adapt to new variants of the virus both after updated vaccines and infection, says Ørbo.
Patients who have had corona in the last six months have not had the effect of a new vaccine dose.
Those who, on the other hand, had not had an infection, received an additional effect from a new dose of vaccine.
Can change vaccination advice
The study may change advice on vaccines for patients treated with TNF inhibitors. They are still recommended to take an annual vaccine.
- Patients without a greater risk of serious corona disease can probably follow the same advice as the general population, after four or five vaccine doses. This applies to those who are younger than 65 and without other illnesses that increase the risk of severe corona disease, says Ørbo.
Important collaboration for more knowledge about vaccination
The study is part of Nor-vaC , a collaboration between several hospitals and the Institute of Public Health. The hospitals that collaborate are Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Akershus University Hospital and Oslo University Hospital.
The project provides insight into how patients with compromised immune systems receive better protection through vaccination.
- We continue to follow this group of patients to find out how they can get the best possible protection from vaccines, says Guro Løvik Goll. She is a senior physician at Diakonhjemmet hospital and leads the Nor-vaC study.
Reference:
Hilde S. Ørbo et al.: Humoral and cellular responses to a fifth bivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases on tumor necrosis factor inhibitors: a prospective cohort study . The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 2025.
