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In 2017, Korean researchers found that methotrexate interferes with the serologic response to influenza vaccine (Ann Rheum Dis 2017; 76:1559). Since then, rheumatologists routinely have suggested stopping the drug for 2 weeks after patients with stable rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are vaccinated. The same group of researchers now investigated whether a shorter hiatus provides the same benefit.
They randomized 153 patients with RA (mean age, 58; most were women; mean daily dose of methotrexate, ≈12.5 mg) to stop taking the drug for either 1 or 2 weeks after getting a standard-dose quadrivalent 2021–2022 flu vaccine. Many of the patients also were taking steroids or other antirheumatic drugs, which were continued. One month after vaccination, an …