Vaccine effectiveness?

[Workingcocker]

Is there any data on the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine for people with PMR?

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It is rather early to expect data of that type and as far as I can gather, the information that would make it easy to collect it in the UK isn't part of the vaccine protocol. There are studies ongoing such as the ZOE and Biobank ones and presumably other surveys across the world.

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

are two recent threads where people have been discussing the development of antibodies and as you can see, the results vary widely. as they do for healthy people as well.

But antibodies aren't the entire story - it is likely to be some months at least before reliable data are available to answer such questions.

[Workingcocker in reply to PMRpro]

Many thanks for the prompt and informative response.

[Amkoffee in reply to PMRpro]

The Phizer vaccine is not an antibody type vaccine. In fact neither is the moderna vaccine. That is not how this works exactly. They aren't like back in our day when we would get the polio vaccine it's not like the flu vaccine either.

[HeronNS in reply to Amkoffee]

Surely they do work by promoting the body to make antibodies as well as whatever else they are doing? T-cell response?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Amkoffee]

I beg your pardon - but the immune response involves production of antibodies and that is what people are producing in response to the vaccines and getting measured.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are mRNA vaccines rather than viral vector vaccines and differ from other vaccines in that sense - but the whole purpose of vaccines is to encourage the immune system to produce antibodies and stimulate long term immune memory with the T and B cells.