Effect of Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine on Thyroid Function and Autoimmunity Within 28 Days After the Second Dose.

Background: The safety of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines is widely appreciated. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the potential impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines on the thyroid. Methods: We performed two prospective clinical trials between April and June, 2021, enrolling recipients of the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (BBIBP-CorV and CoronaVac). Thyroid function, antithyroid antibody levels, and SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody levels were detected for each participant before receiving the first vaccine dose and 28 days after receiving the second vaccine dose. Results: A total of 657 recipients participated in the study. The overall median thyroid function and levels of antithyroid antibodies before and after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination were within the normal range. Among the 564 participants with normal thyroid function at baseline, 36 (6.38% [confidence interval; CI 4.51-8.73]) developed thyroid dysfunction. Of the 545 recipients with negative antithyroid antibodies at baseline, none developed abnormal antibodies after vaccination. Notably, 75.27% (70/93 [CI 65.24-83.63]) of the 93 recipients with thyroid dysfunction returned to normal function after vaccination. The levels of antithyroid peroxidase antibody (96.20% [CI 89.30-99.21]) and antithyroglobulin antibody (TgAb; 88.31% [CI 78.97-94.51]) remained positive after vaccination in most patients with abnormal values at baseline. However, the TgAb levels in more than half of the patients (48/77) decreased. All of 11 abnormal thyrotropin receptor antibody levels at baseline decreased postvaccination. Conclusions: Vaccination with an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine had no significant adverse impact on thyroid function or antithyroid antibodies within the first 28 days after the second dose. Clinical Trial Registration: ChiCTR2100045109 and ChiCTR2100042222.

A rare case of grave's disease after SARS-CoV-2 vaccine: is it an adjuvant effect?

The COVID-19 virus has been responsible for the development of several systemic diseases. Recently, the COVID-19 vaccine has also been incriminated in the development of autoimmune diseases. Currently, researchers have focused on the relationship between the COVID-19 vaccine and the activation of autoimmune phenomenon. We report a case of Graves' disease (GD) whose symptoms appeared 3 days after vaccination against COVID-19. A forty-three-year-old female, without pathological history, presented with diarrhea and palpitation. She received her first SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine dose (Pfizer-BioNTech), in August 2021. Three days after the vaccine, she felt palpitations, sleep disorders, muscle weakness, and heat intolerance. On examination, her pulse was 119 beats per minute, she weighed 63 kg, and she had lost 4 kg in only two months. GD was suspected. Thyroid hormone testing showed low thyroid-stimulating hormone, and an elevated serum free thyroxine hormone T4 level. Serology tests were positive for TSH receptor autoantibodies (TRAB). A GD induced by adjuvants of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine has been retained as a final diagnosis. Several autoimmune diseases have been attributed to adjuvant-induced autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome, including systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, and recently few cases of GD have been explained by this phenomenon.