Tag Archives: vaccine

Pre-print Report: COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy in IBD Patients

People who live with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have questions regarding COVID-19 vaccination and how it may be impacted by their disease or their medications. IBDologists recommend that people who live with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis receive a vaccination for COVID-19. Check with your physicians on your individual circumstances but, in general, the advice is that the vaccines are safe and effective for people with IBD, and they are recommended.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 90 – Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

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Telling your Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis story is powerful. It can be freeing but it can also come with some unexpected side effects.

Welcome back Rosanne Mottola, who originally intended to talk over receiving her second dose of the Pfizer BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine. She told her ulcerative colitis story and about receiving her first dose on Episode 87, “COVID-19 Vaccination With UC Patient Rosanne Mottola.” She gives her experience on her second dose, how it affected her, and what her family’s plans are now that she’s vaccinated.

Additionally, Rosanne had another part of her journey that she wanted to share. She listened to her first About IBD episode (something a lot of guests don’t actually do), as did her family. Reflecting on her ulcerative colitis journey brought things back in a fresh way. She tells me how revisiting some parts of her life in this way was both troubling and healing. It’s an important part of the disease journey, especially for those who tell their story publicly, that doesn’t often get discussed.

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About IBD Podcast Episode 87 – COVID-19 Vaccination With UC Patient Rosanne Mottola

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People with IBD and other chronic conditions have questions about receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. Rosanne Mottola works at a hospital and was therefore eligible to receive a vaccination through her employer. Rosanne gives her experiences and takeaways as a “mild to moderate” ulcerative colitis patient and how she made the decision to receive the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. She gives some great advice about how the internet may skew our perception of what IBD life is like, and because of her experiences and background, she’s a wonderful resource for people living with IBD.

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

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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

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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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