Rheumatologist Bruce Garner, MD, of NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, New York, told Reuters Health by email that he agrees with the recommendations.
“However, as the authors state, we do not have enough information to make definitive recommendations on the COVID vaccine and we are extrapolating based on other vaccines,” he says. “There is no guarantee that these extrapolations are applicable to the COVID vaccine.”
“That said,” he says, “the most important thing is to get the vaccine, to help both the individual and the public. Based on the recommendations recently published by the American College of Rheumatology, if my patients are well controlled on methotrexate, I do advise them to hold the next week’s dose following the vaccine.”
“However,” he says, “if the patients are in danger of flaring, I advise them to continue their methotrexate.”
Reference
- Arnold J, Winthrop K, Emery P. COVID-19 vaccination and anti-rheumatic therapy. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021 Mar 12;keab223. Online ahead of print.
