Patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases benefit significantly from the fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic conditions that cause inflammation, are at increased risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and death from severe COVID-19. Many patients receive disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to treat these conditions, but this treatment has been associated with a blunted response to COVID-19 vaccines. The U.S. Centers for…