Increased Reports of Rare Autoimmune Disease, COVID-19 and Its Vaccine Contributed: Study

In 2019 in Yorkshire, England, only two people tested positive for the disease. In 2020, nine tested positive, and in 2021, there were 35 new cases.

Pathology of a muscle autoimmune condition, where immune cells attack the muscles. David A Litman/Shutterstock

Cases of a rare autoimmune disease surged between 2020 and 2022 in Yorkshire, England, peaking in 2021. COVID-19 infection and its vaccines possibly contributed to the rise, a recent study in The Lancet’s eBioMedicine found.

The disease—melanoma differentiation-associated protein-5 (anti-MDA5) positive dermatomyositis, or anti-MDA5 dermatomyositis—is an inflammatory disease characterized by muscle weakness, skin rashes, and rapidly progressive lung disease.