More than one-third of German patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) did not get vaccinated, largely due to fear of developing a lupus flare or negative side effects related to the vaccines, a new study shows.

The study, “Vaccination coverage in systemic lupus erythematosus—a cross-sectional analysis of the German long-term study (LuLa cohort),” was published in the journal Rheumatology.

Infections are a significant issue for patients with SLE, contributing to more than one-third of SLE-related deaths during the past decade. One of the major reasons for the higher rate of infections is that SLE patients are administered immunosuppressive therapies, which inhibits their immune system.

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