The COVID-19 Vaccination Debate: COVID-19 and Celiac Disease

Abstract

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that appears to cause a systemic disorder largely marked by fever and respiratory symptoms as well as diarrhea. The agent gains access to respiratory and gastrointestinal cells through a complex molecular mechanism associated with increased ACE2 receptor expression on brush border membranes of epithelial cells. Because some autoimmune-based disorders, including celiac disease, appear to be at increased risk for viral and community-acquired bacterial infections, a number of preliminary survey studies from different countries, largely web-based or telephone-based, have suggested that COVID-19 infection risk is not increased in celiac disease. However, specific sub-groups of patients with celiac disease have not been thoroughly evaluated. For example, selective immunoglobulin A deficiency or other immune deficiency states with celiac disease may represent a special risk group for COVID-19 and other viral infectious agents.