Safety concerns and concerns about aggravation of their underlying condition are common drivers of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among patients with psoriatic disease, results of a new study show. Data come from an analysis of social media posts from patients in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Spain.

Main concerns were associated with potential side effects post-vaccination, effect on autoimmune conditions, and lack of trial data, according to the research presented at EADV Congress 2021. Patients also indicated that they lacked information on the interaction of the COVID-19 vaccine with biologic therapy.

A second study presented at the 30th EADV Congress shows no differential risk of respiratory tract infections (RTI) between biologics adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, ustekinumab, secukinumab, ixekizumab, and guselkumab, and no association was revealed for serious infections (SI).

Researchers in The Netherlands examined the differential effect of biological therapies on risk of RTI and SI, including COVID-19. A daily practice cohort of 714 psoriasis patients with 1325 treatment episodes from the BioCAPTURE registry was analysed, with 2,224 RTI and 63 SI reported but only 1.3% of RTI reported as serious. The crude incidence rate of SARS-CoV-2 infections was 3.8 (95% CI: 2.2-6.1) per 100 PY during 2020, in a single BioCAPTURE centre. 

“Our analysis reveals no differences in risk of respiratory tract infections between biologics, including the newer IL-17 and IL-23 inhibitors, in a prospective psoriasis patients’ cohort. In addition, our preliminary results suggest that biological treatments do not impact psoriasis patients’ susceptibility to COVID-19 infections, although this needs to be further investigated,” says lead author of the study Lara van der Schoot of the Department of Dermatology at Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. “These findings provide key clinical value and will help to guide patient decisions with regard to psoriasis treatment options and choice.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge to patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases like psoriasis,” says Dee-Dee Murrell, EADV Board Member and Professor of Dermatology at the University of NSW, in Australia, “However, the research presented here provides actionable insights that can help to educate and support psoriasis patients with regards to the impact of biological treatments on infection, and on the need for COVID-19 vaccinations.”