COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Guidance for Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases
(Part 1)
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has come up with a set of guidelines to help doctors on how to use various treatments in conjunction with the administration of Coronavirus disease (Covid) vaccines.
There are some patients who suffer from rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease patients and wish to get vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
These guidelines were based upon a lack of high-quality information and are not supposed to replace clinical judgment.
There are modifications being made to treatment plans, particularly in complicated rheumatic disease patients. The ACR understands that the guidelines are specific to the patient, geography and other factors.
Therefore, there is a need to individualize the treatment regimen as part of a shared decision-making process. These guidelines are released with the notion that they will be evolving as new pieces of evidence or data surface. It is best for clinicians to watch out for updates and changes.
The method in coming up with guidelines consists of forming a team of 9 rheumatologists, 2 infectious disease specialists, and 2 public health experts.
The Task Force pushed for a variety of clinical questions related to COVID-19 vaccination in patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD).
The group was divided into teams and assigned the clinical questions to the various teams by topics which include vaccine effectiveness and safety among others.
Each team was charged to come up with pieces of evidence covering the topic assigned to the particular team. The information is then collected and disseminated to the entire ACR.
In next week’s column we will be discussing the guidelines for the treatments of those with RMD and seeking to get Covid vaccines.