Safety of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in autoimmune encephalitis: A real-world cross-sectional survey

Highlights

• This is the first assessment of the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for people with autoimmune encephalitis.

• A lower frequency of adverse events was found after either the first or second dose, and no serious adverse events were reported.

• We found no evidence that vaccination with inactivated COVID-19 increases risk of relapse of autoimmune encephalitis.

• This real-world survey indicates an overall favorable safety profile of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine for people with autoimmune encephalitis.

Abstract

Objective

To assess safety data of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in a real-world sample of people with autoimmune encephalitis (pwAE).

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed between 1 March and 30 April 2022. We invited pwAE from our previous ONE-WC (Outcome of Autoimmune Encephalitis Study in Western China) registration study database, to attend neurological clinics, at West China Hospital to participate in a face-to-face survey using a custom-designed questionnaire for this study. The ONE-WC study began in October 2011 and prospectively enrolled pwAE from four large comprehensive neurological centers in Sichuan province, China.

Results

Of the 387 pwAE, 240 (62.0%) completed the questionnaire. Half the 240 participants (121, 50.4%) reported receiving at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, which in all but two patients received inactivated COVID-19 vaccine. Among vaccinated pwAE, the median age was 35 years (range 15-69) and 57.8% of them were women. The most frequent reasons that unvaccinated individuals reported for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine were concern about vaccine-induced relapse of AE (50.4%) and advice from a physician to delay vaccination (21.0%). Small proportions of vaccinated individuals reported adverse events after the first dose (11.5%) or the second dose (10.2%), and none of the adverse events was serious. Across the entire sample, one individual reported relapsing within 30 days after the first dose and three individuals reported relapsing more than 120 days after the first dose.

Conclusions

This real-world survey indicates an overall favorable safety profile of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine for pwAE.