BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness in Patients with Coeliac Disease Autoimmunity: Real-World Data from Mass Vaccination Campaign

Abstract

Background: Data on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among patients with coeliac disease are currently lacking because patients with immune conditions were excluded from clinical trials. We used our coeliac disease autoimmunity (CDA) cohort to explore the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection among patients with CDA. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients with positive autoantibodies against tissue transglutaminase (tTG-IgA). In the primary analysis, the cohort included CDA patients who received two vaccine doses against COVID-19 and matched patients in a 1:3 ratio. Patients were divided into subgroups based on their positive tTG-IgA level at diagnosis and their current serology status. Results: The cohort included 5381 vaccinated patients with CDA and 14,939 matched vaccinated patients. The risk for breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection evaluated with Kaplan–Meier survival analysis via log-rank tests was similar between groups (p = 0.71). In a Cox regression survival analysis, the hazard ratio for breakthrough infection among patients with CDA compared to matched patients was 0.91 (95% confidence interval = 0.77–1.09). Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination is effective in patients with coeliac disease autoimmunity. Vaccine effectiveness was comparable to the reference population.

Keywords

• celiac disease
• COVID-19
• immunization