Research
Through multiple avenues, the ACR has tried to facilitate research related to COVID-19. We supported the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance , a grassroots group collecting data on rheumatic patients who have had COVID-19, by making it a section of the College.
We also held an online meeting of independent experts researching vaccine efficacy in patients with autoimmune diseases to help foster collaboration and get needed answers more quickly. We advocated for the inclusion of rheumatic disease patients in the original vaccine studies, and we pushed nationwide to have rheumatic disease patients qualify as high-risk persons first able to receive vaccines upon their release.
We have continued this advocacy as it became clear from the research that some of our immunocompromised patients have not mounted an adequate vaccine response. I asked CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, and Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, MD, to prioritize the study of, and access to, additional vaccinations for our patients who have compromised immune systems or who are on immunosuppressing medications. We at the ACR are pleased to now have this extra tool to help protect our vulnerable patients, and we will continue to advocate for our patients as new needs arise.
Other actions by the College have focused on concerns our patients may have regarding the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. The Rheumatology Research Foundation hosted a patient-facing webinar to answer questions they had. We then hosted a virtual town hall for providers, featuring Kimberly Manning, MD, FACP, FAAP, the associate vice chair for diversity, equity and inclusion for the Department of Medicine at Emory University, Atlanta, who urged providers to listen thoughtfully and nonjudgmentally to patients to better address their specific vaccine concerns. ACR vaccine experts provided answers to questions from our community regarding immunizations in our patients.
Lastly, the Committee on Rheumatologic Care hosted a virtual town hall on Aug. 4, in which experts shared the latest results about COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in immunosuppressed and rheumatic disease patients.
In Sum
Although we cannot gloss over the difficulties of the past year-and-a-half, I am truly inspired by the comprehensive work performed by the ACR staff and volunteers who have made these efforts, and many more, possible. The ACR has managed to maintain almost all its preexisting educational commitments, including the overwhelmingly successful, all-virtual ACR Convergence (https://www.rheumatology.org/Annual-Meeting). We have completed many projects that are essential to our members, such as new clinical guidelines in rheumatoid arthritis and vasculitis. Through it all, we have learned to work efficiently and nimbly on multiple issues simultaneously, and in so doing, the ACR has become even better prepared and equipped to support our members in the future.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have concerns. Know that you have a dedicated team behind you that is looking out for your best interests, even as you work hard to meet the needs of your patients.
