CORALE IBD V Study - COVID-19 Vaccine

[LuckyD]

So I signed up a few weeks ago for this study being led by Cedar Sinai Medical Center in LA after listening to a video from the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. They are trying to determine the safety & effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine in people with IBD.

Yesterday I received a pretty cool kit to do my blood draws from the comfort of my home. The test was practically painless, just a small pinch. Is anyone else in the group in this same study? Here's a picture of the device they provided to collect the blood sample.

Last I heard they were trying to get at least 3,000 individuals enrolled. The more people that sign up with a variety of maintenance meds combinations and varying disease, the more valuable data they can report.

 

[Jbungie]

Very cool..thanks for sharing! What meds are you on?

 

[LuckyD]

Very cool..thanks for sharing! What meds are you on?

I'm currently on humira (weekly), 50mg/day Azathioprine and Apriso (4 capsules/day).

I'm supposed to get my antibody results in about 6-8 weeks. I was told they plan to follow the participants long term (up to 3 years) to check for any long term effects.

Here's the link to sign up if anyone is interested: https://www.corale-study.org/ibd

 

[LuckyD]

Just dropping by for an update. I received my blood work results and they are as follow:

So according to this, I have never had COVID-19, hence the almost non existent "anti-N" number and had a positive response to vaccine based on the "anti-S" numbers.

My 2nd Pfizer dose was done on March 11, 2021 and this blood sample was collected July 26, 2021, so about 4.5 months after 2nd dose.

Based on the preliminary study findings, they have been able to report that IBD patients in general have had the same response as the general population despite the therapies/meds we are on.

I had a GI follow up appointment the week before I got these results but he did encourage me to take a booster 8 months after the 2nd dose. I did get a separate email from the study asking for participants to report if they would be getting a booster so they can do follow up bloodwork.

With that said, I think this is very encouraging news for the IBD community. I hope that at some point they figure out with more certainty what the minimum antibody levels need to be so we can avoid contracting COVID-19 and at what point in time booster are needed to maintain minimum levels.

 

[Scipio]

This is good news for you. What was the timing of you IBD meds compared to the vaccine doses? In other words, how soon before or after the vaccine doses did you take any IBD meds?

I'm trying to get an idea how much the timing of the biologic doses does or does not interfere with the response to the vaccine.

 

[LuckyD]

This is good news for you. What was the timing of you IBD meds compared to the vaccine doses? In other words, how soon before or after the vaccine doses did you take any IBD meds?

I'm trying to get an idea how much the timing of the biologic doses does or does not interfere with the response to the vaccine.

I continued my meds as scheduled and didn't skip any doses. For example, I take humira weekly (on Fridays) and my first dose was on a Friday. My 2nd dose was on a Thursday and the next day I took my humira as planned despite feeling crabby (flu like symptoms due to vaccine response). I also take daily azathioprine and Apriso.