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Vaccines (Basel)
. 2021 Sep 29;9(10):1112.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines9101112.
COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis: A Single-Center Case Series
Zhe Ruan 1 , Yonglan Tang 1 , Chunhong Li 1 , Chao Sun 1 , Ying Zhu 1 , Zhuyi Li 1 , Ting Chang 1
Affiliations
- PMID: 34696220
- DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9101112
Abstract
In this study, we report the safety of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). Patients who were vaccinated against COVID-19 were included. Demographics, clinical characteristics, medications, and vaccination information were collected. The main observation outcome is the worsening of MG symptoms within 4 weeks following COVID-19 vaccination. A total of 22 patients with MG vaccinated for COVID-19 were included. Ten (45.5%) patients had ocular MG (OMG), and 12 (55.5%) patients had generalized MG (GMG). Six (27.3%) patients were female, and the mean (SD) onset age was 45.4 (11.8) years. Nineteen (86.4%) patients were seropositive for acetylcholine receptors (AChR) antibody. Seven (31.8%) patients underwent thymectomy, and four of them confirmed thymoma pathologically. Twenty-one patients were administrated with inactivated vaccines, and the remaining one was administrated with recombinant subunit vaccine. Twenty (90.9%) patients did not present MG symptom worsening within 4 weeks of COVID-19 vaccination, and two (9.1%) patients reported slight symptom worsening but resolved quickly within a few days. Our findings suggest inactivated COVID-19 vaccines might be safe in MG patients with Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) classification I to II, supporting the recommendation to promote vaccination for MG patients during the still expanding COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 infection; myasthenia gravis; safety; vaccination.