Tag Archives: sarscov2

5 Things I Want You to Know About the COVID-19 Vaccines

People who live with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have had many questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine rollout is no different. The good news is that prominent IBD physicians are advocating for people who live with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis to get vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus which causes COVID-19). As healthcare professionals, many of them have already received a vaccine themselves.

After speaking with Dr David Rubin, highly respected IBDologist, fierce advocate for patients, and consummate educator who graciously responds to my emails, on About IBD, I became better aware of the concerns of the IBD community in regards to vaccination. I’ve spent the better part of the last month working towards answering questions and reading research.

To that end, I have come up with 5 nuggets of information that address some of the chief concerns about COVID-19 vaccinations in people who live with IBD.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 85 - Dr David Rubin Answers COVID-19 Vaccine Questions

About IBD Podcast Episode 85 – Dr David Rubin Answers COVID-19 Vaccine Questions

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have had many questions. Now that vaccines against the virus are becoming available, people living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis need even more information in order to make decisions. I asked Dr David Rubin, Chief of the Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition and the Co-Director of the Digestive Diseases Center at The University of Chicago Medicine to answer some of these initial questions about the first COVID-19 vaccines (manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna). Topics discussed on this episode include:

  • How vaccines work
  • How mRNA works
  • How IBD medications affect the immune system
  • IBD medications and their potential effect on COVID-19 vaccination
  • When we’ll have more information about COVID-19 vaccines and IBD
  • Why side effects with vaccines are expected and what they mean
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