A balancing act
Commenting on the findings, Tyler Smith, MD, clinical assistant professor of neurology at New York University, said that, although the data suggest these MS therapies may affect COVID vaccine efficacy to varying degrees, there’s more to the story.
“This data builds upon a growing body of evidence that these treatments may attenuate vaccine responses to different degrees, and this should be balanced with their efficacy in controlling multiple sclerosis relapses, Dr. Smith said, adding that “real-life studies examining the effect of vaccines show benefit in limiting hospitalization and death.”
“Developing evidence continues to demonstrate the benefits of vaccination,” he said, “and I encourage all patients to follow the latest federal health guidelines regarding COVID-19 vaccinations.”
Dr. Garjani has received personal compensation for serving as a speaker with MS Academy and Biogen. Dr. Smith’s 2020-2021 fellowship was supported in part by Biogen and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Clinical Care Physician Fellowship 2020-2021. Dr. Smith also received honoraria from the American Academy of Neurology in 2020.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.