Vaccination responses in B‐cell‐depleted multiple sclerosis patients: The role of drug pharmacokinetics.

Apart from B-cell counts and time since last infusion, they introduce rituximab concentrations as a predictor of SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion after vaccination in MS patients treated with rituximab. The humoral responses after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination or infection in B-cell-depleted MS patients are decreased [4, 5], whereas accumulating evidence suggests that T-cell immunity after vaccination remains largely intact [6, 7]. Keywords: B-cell depletion; COVID-19; multiple sclerosis; rituximab; vaccination responses EN B-cell depletion COVID-19 multiple sclerosis rituximab vaccination responses 3137 3138 2 10/13/22 20221101 NES 221101 Early reports prior to availability of vaccinations show that treatment with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (e.g., rituximab, ocrelizumab) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients is associated with an increased risk of a more severe COVID-19 disease course [1, 2]. [Extracted from the article]