My rheumatologist was diplomatic about the risk of infections from these medications. She said it was because of "too much immunosupression."

The goal of all these medications is to suppress the immune system. That is the treatment for autoimmune disorders. Prednisone might me the most potent immunosuppressive medication of them all which is why it works so well.

I'm on a biologic now and I was able to taper completely off prednisone. If my experience counts for anything, I haven't had a serious infection since being off prednisone. Yes, a serious infection is still a possibility.