Wang Y, D’Silva KM, Jorge AM, et al. - Because of the presence of immunologic dysfunction and use of potent immunomodulatory medications, patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are at increased risk of acquiring infections. In this study, the rate of COVID-19 among RA participants was investigated and compared with that among the general population.

• Using the Health Improvement Network, researchers identified 225 cases of suspected/confirmed COVID-19 among 17,268 RA patients, and 14,234 cases among 1,616,600 participants in the general population (1.4 vs 0.9/1,000 person-months).

• Analysis revealed an elevated risk of COVID-19 in correlation with RA, but not osteoarthritis.

• In this study, timely evidence was generated in support of recommendations of encouraging booster vaccines and priority access to anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody treatments for RA patients.