Patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other rheumatic conditions are more at risk for complications and death from pneumonia, meningitis, and other bacterial infections, yet most have not been vaccinated against infection.
UT Southwestern rheumatologist Elena K. Joerns, M.D., recommends that all patients with rheumatic disorders receive a pneumococcal vaccine to protect against the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, which can cause infections in the ears, sinuses, lungs, spinal fluid, or bloodstream and lead to severe symptoms and hospitalization.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 23.9% of adults ages 64 and younger with a higher risk of infection due to various conditions had received one or more vaccine doses in 2020.
At UT Southwestern, a team in the West Campus Rheumatology-Internal Medicine Subspecialties Clinic has taken steps to boost vaccination rates among its patients, offering greater flexibility to provide vaccines during the check-in process or while patients wait to be seen by a physician.
As a result of the effort, the percentage of unvaccinated patients visiting the clinic decreased from 68.2% in 2019 to 40.5% in 2021, the team reported this month in The Journal of Rheumatology.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which provides guidance to the CDC, updated its recommendations in 2022 to give providers and patients the option of a new, single-dose pneumococcal vaccine rather than a three-dose regimen previously recommended, making vaccination more convenient.
