August 13, 2021 – 4:45 PM
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously to recommend, and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD subsequently approved, that people with moderately to severely weakened immune systems receive a third dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
The CDC defined the recommended group as people who have undergone solid organ transplants, people with HIV, people taking immunosuppressant biologic drugs, and those with blood cancers and other conditions that impair the immune system. Click here for CDC recommendations.
“These recommendations directly affect people with lupus, many of whom either have had a kidney or other organ transplant or take immunosuppressive drugs, thereby impacting the ability of their immune system to sufficiently fight the virus,” pointed out Lupus Research Alliance President/CEO Kenneth M. Farber. “We strongly advise our community to talk to their healthcare provider about whether this third vaccine dose is right for them and to continue taking safety precautions to prevent COVID-19.”
As the LRA reported earlier, the CDC met in follow-up to the announcement last night by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granting Emergency Use Authorization of a booster third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to “some people who are immunocompromised.”
The LRA is speaking with our advisors and members of our Lupus Clinical Investigators Network to gain further insight into what is recommended specifically for people with lupus.
Haga clic aquí para acceder a la traducción al español.
Click here for statement from the American College of Rheumatology
