Romão, Vasco C.Machado, Ana RitaFonseca, João Eurico2021-03-032021-03-032021Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Feb;80(2):e220003-4967http://hdl.handle.net/10451/46617Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. This article is made freely available for use in accordance with BMJ’s website terms and conditions for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic or until otherwise determined by BMJ. You may use, download and print the article for any lawful, non-commercial purpose (including text and data mining) provided that all copyright notices and trade marks are retained. https://bmj.com/coronavirus/usageWe read with interest the comment by Joob and Wiwanitkit on the letter published by Monti et al in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (ARD). In it, the authors state that there are no reported cases of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with COVID-19 and suggest that this may be due to a protective effect of hydroxychloroquine, a mainstay treatment taken by most patients with SLE. A similar suggestion had already been made earlier this month in the ARD by colleagues from Italy, the first hardly-hit western country, and was reinforced by yet another recently published letter.engjournal article10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-2176651468-2060