A study of the efficacy and safety of plaque psoriasis treatment by TNF-α and IL-17A inhibitor biologics in patients who received the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Background: Vaccination is an important method for the prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. There is currently a lack of real-world clinical data regarding the safety and efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines with respect to plaque psoriasis treatment involving tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitors.

Methods: We longitudinally analyzed 152 patients with plaque psoriasis, 86 of whom received two doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine (either BBIBP-CorV or CoronaVac). Comparisons were made between patients undergoing treatment with biologics (TNF- α inhibitors or IL-17A inhibitors) or acitretin. Routine blood tests were used to assess safety; the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) and dermatology life quality index (DLQI) were used to assess efficacy.

Results: After inactivated COVID-19 vaccination, biologics retained considerable advantages in terms of improving skin lesions (measured by PASI) and quality of life (measured by DLQI), compared with conventional treatment (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). Routine blood tests and hepatorenal function analyses suggested that inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines did not alter the safety of biologics treatment (p > 0.05).

Conclusions: Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines do not have significant impacts on the safety and efficacy of biologics (TNF-α inhibitors or IL-17A inhibitors) in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.