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Correspondence on ‘SARS-CoV-2 vaccine hesitancy among patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: a message for rheumatologists’
  1. Gianluca Smerilli,
  2. Edoardo Cipolletta,
  3. Erica Moscioni,
  4. Francesca Francioso,
  5. Anna Maria Risa,
  6. Vincenzo Maccarrone,
  7. Davide Zompa,
  8. Andrea Di Matteo,
  9. Marco Di Carlo,
  10. Rossella De Angelis,
  11. Fausto Salaffi,
  12. Emilio Filippucci,
  13. Walter Grassi
  1. Rheumatology Unit, Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, "Carlo Urbani" Hospital, Polytechnic University of Marche, Jesi, Italy
  1. Correspondence to Dr Gianluca Smerilli, Rheumatology Unit - Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, "Carlo Urbani" Hospital, Polytechnic University of Marche, Jesi, Ancona, Italy; smerilli.gianluca{at}gmail.com

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We read with great interest the letter recently published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases by Priori et al,1 who carried out an online survey among patients with rheumatic diseases to explore their willingness to receive the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. An alarming high hesitancy was observed in nearly half of these patients.

This is particularly concerning as patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRDs) are regarded as at higher risk for developing severe COVID-19 and, for this reason, they should be vaccinated with priority.2 3

To date, four vaccines have been approved in Italy for COVID-19 but only three are currently available (ie, Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca). Importantly, the European Alliance of Association for Rheumatology stated that all these vaccines can be used safely in patients with AIIRDs as well as in patients receiving immunosuppressive treatment.4 Similarly, the Italian Society of Rheumatology (Società Italiana di Reumatologia) produced a document (last update: 13 March 2021) to confirm the safety of all the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for patients with AIIRDs.5

In recent weeks, AstraZeneca vaccine is undergoing an unprecedented media firestorm following reports on its possible association with venous thromboembolism.6 With this regard, the European Medicines Agency has stated that the overall benefits of AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19 outweigh the risks of side effects in the general population.7

Our aim was to explore the willingness to receive SARS-CoV-2 vaccines among …

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Footnotes

  • Handling editor Josef Smolen

  • GS and EC contributed equally.

  • Contributors GS and EC contributed to the conception of the work. GS, EC, EM, FF, AMR, VM, DZ, ADM, MDC, RDA, FS, EF and WG contributed to the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data. GS, EC and ADM have drafted the paper. All authors have approved the submitted version.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests MDC has received speaking fees from AbbVie and Novartis. FS has received speaking fees from Roche, AbbVie, Novartis, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Pfizer and Merck Sharp and Dohme Italia. EF has received speaking fees from AbbVie, BMS, Janssen, Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Roche, Pfizer and UCB Pharma. WG has received speaking fees from AbbVie, Celgene, Grünenthal, Pfizer and UCB Pharma. All other authors disclose no conflict of interest.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

  • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.

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