diff --git a/core/server/services/bulk-email/bulk-email-processor.js b/core/server/services/bulk-email/bulk-email-processor.js
index 116b956b91..7cd6e7af12 100644
--- a/core/server/services/bulk-email/bulk-email-processor.js
+++ b/core/server/services/bulk-email/bulk-email-processor.js
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ module.exports = {
             // update all email recipients with a processed_at
             await models.EmailRecipient
                 .where({batch_id: emailBatchId})
-                .save({processed_at: moment()}, Object.assign({}, knexOptions, {patch: true}));
+                .save({processed_at: moment()}, Object.assign({}, knexOptions, {autoRefresh: false, patch: true}));
         }
     },