ABSTRACT
BackgroundIn February 2021, the first doses of COVID-19 vaccines were received in Paraguay, and rheumatic patients were the preferred population to get these vaccines. Up to December 2022 the vaccination coverage in Paraguay was 59.4%, with at least one vaccine dose. 52.4% accessed the primary scheme (two doses), while 28.6% had at least one booster dose. Only 7.1% completed the COVID-19 immunization scheme.ObjectivesTo describe vaccination against COVID-19 in Paraguayan patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).MethodsDescriptive, cross sectional, observational study, in a Paraguayan cohort of RA patients meeting ACR/EULAR2010 criteria, under follow-up in two Rheumatology reference centers, from October to December 2022. A standardized questionnaire according to the variables included (clinical, vaccination, vaccine type, number of doses) was made. Quantitative variables were presented as means and qualitative as frequencies.Results568 patients with RA were included, 84.1% were female, mean age 55.48±13.94 years old. 23.9% patients were from Hospital de Clínicas and 76.1% from Hospital Central del Instituto de Previsión Social. The average number of received vaccinations doses was 2.54±1.19. 88.7% of patients acquired at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 85% obtained two doses;and, while 60.9% of patients received the first booster, 21.2% had the second one.ConclusionIn this series of Paraguayan RA patients, vaccination against COVID-19 is higher than the general population, perhaps due to priority of patients with rheumatic diseases receiving immunization, and frequent access to medical care with physician's prompt to receive vaccinations. While over 80% of patients have a complete primary schedule, and more than 60% received the first booster;only 21% have a complete immunization schedule, which is still much higher than the general population in Paraguay.Table 1.Vaccines in Paraguayan patients with Reumatoid ArthritisVaccines against COVID-19First Dose n: 504Second Dose n: 483First booster n: 344Second booster n: 122Sputnik V(Gam--COVID-Vac) n (%)149 (26.2)137 (24.1)10 (1.8)0Astrazeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) n (%)172 (30.3)171 (30.1)110 (19.4)36 (29.5)Pfizer n (BNT162b2) (%)81 (14.3)80 (14.1)198 (34.9)68 (55.7)Moderna (mRNA-1273) n (%)41 (7.2)38 (6.7)22 (3.9)18 (14.8)Hayat Vax n (%)29 (5.1)28 (4.9)1 (0.2)0Sinopharm BBIBP n (%)2 (0.4)1 (0.2)00Covaxin n (%)28 (4.9)26 (4.6)3 (0.5)0CoronaVac n (%)2 (0.4)2 (0.4)00REFERENCES:NIL.Acknowledgements:NIL.Disclosure of InterestsNone Declared.