Reuters Health reports on HSS study findings published in Annals of the Rheumatic Disease and features insight from lead study author Medha Barbhaiya, MD, MPH, rheumatologist at HSS.

The study found nearly one in six patients experienced disease flares after getting a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine among a group of New York patients with rheumatic diseases.

According to the researchers, “This information is reassuring and can help inform vaccine decision-making for patients with SRDs (systemic rheumatic diseases). Although we did not collect laboratory studies, most SRD flares were described as 'typical', suggesting these symptoms are not vaccine's adverse effects being misreported as disease flares.”

Dr. Barbhaiya said, “Our study assessed self-reported disease flares, and was not designed to correlate disease flares with biological markers. Regardless, our data provides reassurance to physicians and patients that the rate of self-reported flares after COVID-19 vaccination by patients with systemic rheumatic diseases appears relatively low."

Read the full article at MDalert.com. Additional coverage: The-rheumatologist.org.