Covid-19 Vaccine

[MAC12]

There has been plenty of talk in the media today about a vaccine for Covid -19 being available fairly soon. Does anyone know whether the vaccines which are being developed (eg the Pfizer one) are of the 'live' kind? My understanding has always been that immune-compromised people (which many of us with vasculitis are due to our medication) should not generally be given 'live' vaccines. Or it should only be done with caution.

[Nadine99]

You're right, you wouldn't have a live vaccine. Lots of discussion on the Vasculitis UK FB page if you have it.

[Main1234 in reply to Nadine99]

Think this one is a live vaccine . Hope they make it available to OH and carers who live with the extremely clinically vulnerable to protect them.

[ldwilliams]

This may be of interest to you, an overview of the various C-19 vaccines that are currently being worked on

rivm.nl/en/novel-coronaviru...

[MAC12 in reply to ldwilliams]

Many thanks for this

[PMRpro]

There is a whole range of this type of vaccine on track. These vaccines are of a completely new type - they do not involve the virus itself, dead or alive, they are what are called mRNA vaccines:

horizon-magazine.eu/article...

"To produce an mRNA vaccine, scientists produce a synthetic version of the mRNA that a virus uses to build its infectious proteins. This mRNA is delivered into the human body, whose cells read it as instructions to build that viral protein, and therefore create some of the virus’s molecules themselves. These proteins are solitary, so they do not assemble to form a virus. The immune system then detects these viral proteins and starts to produce a defensive response to them."

It doesn't mean they definitely won't cause adverse effects - but they can't cause the disease itself, just (hopefully) block it, both transmission and infection. But they don't know that yet.

This was all new stuff - they had been worked on before but not with an end product. Covid has provided the incentive and finance to do it. Their production should also be quicker on a mass scale and that was also one of the main problems in speedy development and role-out of a new vaccine.

[MAC12 in reply to PMRpro]

Many thanks for this info. That is fascinating and encouraging.

[PMRpro in reply to MAC12]

You might like this too:

phgfoundation.org/briefing/...

which a friend sent me this morning.

[piglette]

I think we should be aware that the mRNA type vaccine that is being developed by companies such as Pfizer and Astra Zeneca has so far never been approved for use on humans for infectious diseases although it is being fast tracked through for approval. The concept has been shown to be particular helpful for cancer as it stimulates the immune system and this is where the idea first started to be developed in fighting tumours. A possible concern for the Covid vaccine could be that the immune response could be very strong. Currently better understanding of vaccine adverse effects is needed – these can include inflammation or autoimmune reactions, so such individuals should be carefully checked before receiving the vaccine.

[Mooka]

I’ve been assured by my consultants that none of the vaccines are live and that I will be able to get advice on whether a vaccine will be suitable for me when one is found. That said it was also explained that like the flu vaccine I am unlikely to mount the desired response to the vaccine due to being immune deficient.

[MAC12 in reply to Mooka]

Thanks, as you suggest, all of us who have vasculitis and are immune-suppressed will need to take advice which is specific to our own case, if and when the vaccine becomes available.

[Pollie in reply to MAC12]

I think it's also worth considering that it's not whether you're immuno suppressed....But whether you're taking Immuno suppressant drugs, ie Azathioprine or Mycophenolate, among others around the time of the vaccine. I was able to have the Shingles vaccine about 10 months after coming off Mycophenolate ...but you do need to discuss this with your Dr.

[MAC12 in reply to Pollie]

Yes that makes sense. In my own case I have been on the lowest possible maintenance dose of azathioprine for several years and my consultant has occasionally spoken of taking me off it altogether which would be quite easy to do, even if only temporarily. But each case is different and we’ll all need to take advice from the medics who are looking after us.

[gooseflight]

Given that the RNA vaccines are designed to elicit a T cell response, how effective will they be for vasculitis sufferers on biologics, e.g. rituximab, that are intended to deplete B and T cells?

[asilanna]

I'm not going to have it.