Risk of Relapse is Low for MS patients After COVID Vaccination, Study Finds

September 15, 2021

Research published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry has indicated that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients did not see a rise in symptoms following COVID-19 vaccination with the Pfizer vaccine. Cohort characteristics included 93.5% of patients having relapsing-remitting MS, 4.6% having secondary progressive disease, and 1.9% having primary progressive disease.

The study included 324 MS patients, of which six experienced relapses in the two months prior to vaccination, and seven encountered clinical relapses within two months after being vaccinated. “The incidence of relapses in the 2 months before and after vaccination was not statistically different.” The mean time between receiving the first vaccine and experiencing a relapse was 44 days, with no effect from factors such as age, gender, and duration of disease.

This is the first study to follow MS patients for at least two months after receiving the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Of the 324 participants included in the study, 322 received both doses.