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The European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) have produced a joint position statement on COVID-19 vaccination for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The statement was released on October 13 at the 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) 2021, which was held online. The statement concludes that the COVID-19 vaccines that are currently available are safe for patients with MS. Further, it states that the vaccines confer the same protection for patients with MS as they do for the general population. Exceptions may be patients taking the S1P modulator fingolimod and anti-CD20 drugs. For these patients, antibody responses have been shown to be reduced.
This position statement will be published on the ECTRIMS and EAN websites. Owing to the shifting, ongoing nature of evidence, the position statement will be updated periodically.
Presenting the statement, Mauricio Farez, MD, Fundacion FLENI, Buenos Aires, Argentina, concluded: “Overall, MS patients do not seem to develop more severe forms of COVID-19 as compared to healthy controls, but patients with greater disability, anti-CD20 treatment, or those with recent steroid use have a higher risk of severe disease.
“So far there are no specific contraindications for any COVID vaccines in MS patients reported,” he added. “We should work with our patients to keep them safe with vaccines while optimizing treatment strategies and MS management, in particular for those treated with anti-CD20 and S1P modulators.”
Risk for COVID-19 Among Patients With MS
On the issue of whether patients with MS are at higher risk for COVID-19 or for having a more severe form of the disease, Farez noted that studies published to date are reassuring and don’t suggest major problems regarding safety.
The main factors that are associated with more serious forms of COVID in patients with MS are similar to those in the general population. These include age, obesity, diabetes, male sex, and Black race.
As for any risk associated with MS therapies, interferons and glatiramer acetate do not increase the risk of getting COVID-19 or worsen the clinical course of the disease. Fingolimod, teriflunomide, natalizumab, and dimethyl fumarate also do not seem to negatively affect risk for COVID-19, the statement says.
However, several studies have shown that anti-CD20 therapies, such as ocrelizumab, and steroid pulses can confer an increased risk for COVID-19.
COVID-19 Vaccine Safety
Four COVID-19 vaccines are licensed for use in the European Union. These include two mRNA vaccines ― Spikevax (Moderna) and Comimaty (Pfizer) ― and two adenovirus-based vaccines, one from Janssen (J&J) and the other from AstraZeneca. Five other COVID-19 vaccines are under review and may be available in the future.
All the currently available vaccines can be administered to patients with MS, including patients receiving immunosuppressant disease-modifying therapies, the statement notes.
In real-life clinical practice, no red flags have been observed for patients with MS who have received mRNA vaccines to date. Nevertheless, because immunocompromised patients and those taking immunomodulators were excluded from trials, continued surveillance for immune-mediated adverse effects is warranted, Farez said.
Regarding possible effects of vaccines on MS relapses/disability, no significant adverse effects occurred in a study conducted in Israel (Achiron and colleagues) that involved 435 patients with MS who were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer mRNA vaccine. The releapse rate was 1.6%, similar to the rate among patients who did not have MS. A study by Di Filippo and colleagues showed no significant changes in relapse rate in the 2 months following immunization with the Pfizer vaccine among 324 patients with MS.
“There are no specific contraindications to any of the vaccines particularly for MS patients compared with the general population,” Farez noted.
Are There Different Recommendations for Different MS Therapies?
On the issue of vaccine effects in patients taking various disease-modifying treatments, the statement says that the data on this are limited. Patients taking interferons, glatiramer acetate, teriflunomide, and fumarates whose lymphocyte counts are normal will most likely be adequately protected. Patients with moderate to severe lymphopenia may not mount an adequate immune response to COVID-19 vaccination, so absolute lymphocyte count may be checked before vaccination.
Patients taking natalizumab will also likely be protected with COVID vaccination.
It is likely that for patients taking alemtuzumab, immune cellular and humoral response to COVID-10 vaccines will be attenuated, especially in the first 6 months during maximum lymphopenia. If possible, vaccination should be delayed until at least 6 months after treatment. It is thought that patients who have completed both courses of alemtuzumab with complete immune reconstitution will mount a full immune response.
In studies, all patients with MS who were treated with cladribine demonstrated a protective humoral immune response to the COVID-19 vaccine. In those studies, the antibody response was evident about 4 months after the last treatment dose, and the titer did not differ from that of healthy persons, Farez reported.
Low Antibody Level With Fingolimod
The majority of patients treated with fingolimod have failed to show a protective level of antibodies following COVID-19 vaccination, the statement notes.
Asked whether patients taking fingolimod should receive a COVID vaccination, Farez said that that was a good question. “We have to think about what is an immune response. Antibodies are only a small fraction of all immune responses. So, until we have data to show otherwise, I think we should vaccinate ― any immunity is better than no immunity,” he said.
Farez also suggested that patients with MS who are taking fingolimod should continue to do so. “Any treatment for MS is better than none. If fingolimod is stopped, MS may rebound. So, the most likely scenario would be to keep treating with fingolimod and to give the vaccination. But these patients may need a more aggressive booster approach ― we will be looking at that,” he said.
Anti-CD20 Antibody Drugs
Patients taking ocrelizumab also do not mount an appropriate antibody response regardless of lymphocyte count or the time interval from the last ocrelizumab dose (3–9 months), the statement says. To optimize vaccine efficacy and to balance benefits and risks, the statement advises administering COVID vaccines at least 12 weeks after administering ocrelizumab and 4–6 weeks prior to the next dose, whenever possible.
A study by Apostolidis and colleagues provides strong evidence of immune priming by COVID vaccination in patients treated with anti-CD20 medications. Although for most of these patients, antibody responses are not optimal, T-cell priming is largely intact, Farez noted.
Booster Doses/Antibody Tests
The need for and timing of COVID vaccine booster doses have not been established. “This is being discussed now for the general population. The recommendations for MS patients will not differ significantly from those for the general population, apart from perhaps for specific populations such as those on anti-CD20 drugs or fingolimod,” Farez said.
Antibody testing is not currently recommended for assessing immunity following COVID vaccination because the clinical utility and serologic correlates of protection after vaccination have not been established. Antibody testing does not evaluate the cellular immune response, which may play a role in vaccine-mediated protection, according to the statement.
Vaccination Strategy After COVID
People should be offered vaccination regardless of their history of symptomatic or asymptomatic COVID-19, including people with prolonged post-COVID symptoms. Data from clinical trials indicate that the currently authorized vaccines can be given safely to people with evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. For people who are known to be currently infected with SARS-CoV-2, vaccination should be deferred until the acute illness has passed.
Pregnancy/Children
Data on the safety of COVID vaccines during pregnancy are limited. On the basis of current knowledge, experts believe that it is unlikely that COVID vaccines pose a risk to the pregnant person or fetus, and thus pregnant people with MS are eligible for and can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the statement notes.
Adolescents aged 12–17 are eligible to receive the authorized mRNA vaccine, but children younger than 12 are not authorized to receive any COVID vaccine at this time, it adds.
37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) 2021: Presented October 15, 2021.
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