Omicron variant dominance and anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination are key determinants for a milder course of COVID-19 in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
Charalampos PapagorasNikoleta ZiogaVasileios PapadopoulosNafsika GerolymatouEleni KalavriChristos BounosTheodora SimopoulouGeorge E FragoulisStylianos PanopoulosKalliopi FragiadakiGerasimos EvangelatosVasiliki-Kalliopi BourniaAikaterini AridaAnastasios KaramanakosMaria PappaEvrydiki KravvaritiKleopatra DeftereouNikolaos KougkasEvangelia ZampeliEvangelia KataxakiKonstantinos MelissaropoulosGeorgia BaroutaAlexandros PanagiotopoulosChristos KoutsianasStamatis-Nick LiossisPanagiotis GeorgiouTheodoros DimitroulasMaria G TektonidouDimitrios P BogdanosAntonia ElezoglouParaskevi V VoulgariPetros P SfikakisDimitrios VassilopoulosPublished in: Clinical rheumatology (2023)
In this 2-year analysis, the rates of hospitalization and death among patients with SAIRDs have declined significantly. Vaccination and the dominance of the Omicron variant appear to be the major determinants for this shift. Key points • During the late phase of the pandemic, the proportion of severe COVID-19 cases, defined as requiring hospitalization or resulting in death, in patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases has declined. • Anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and the dominance of the Omicron strain are the key factors that have independently contributed to this shift.