Cancer Patients and Survivors: The COVID-19 Vaccine Is Important for You
As a cancer patient, youhave concernsdzܳٳsafety ofthe COVID-19 vaccine.Youevenmayquestionwhether you needit.For mostcancer patients,the questionis notwhethertotake the vaccinebutwhen.It’s best tomake this decisionwith yourphysician’s guidance. In the meantime,here is what youneed toknow.
Understanding the COVID-19 vaccines
ThethreeCOVID-19vaccines that are currently available(PfizerBioEnTech,Moderna, Johnson&Johnson),areallequallysafe.Because they do not contain the live coronavirus, they cannot give you COVID-19, according to Kristen Marks, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at ϲapp.
Only in very rare cases have people experienced serious allergic reactionsto the vaccine, and these have generally occurred in individuals with a history of serious allergic reactions.So, as long as you are not allergic to any of ٳvaccine’singredients, and as long asnone ofٳingredients interact negatively withany of yourmedicationsortreatment regimens, then you can safely takeit.In fact,because people with cancerare atincreased risk for severe COVID-19,the Centers for Disease Control urgesthem,as well ascancer survivors,to get vaccinated.
“We know from very large studies that there were no serious events attributed to the vaccine,” Dr. Marks says.“Because the risk of COVID-19is so high,concern about an extremely rare side effect shouldn't prevent people from getting the vaccine now.”
All of the vaccines are highly effective, too.You may have heard that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is less effective than the other two,but when it comes topreventingsevere COVID-19and resulting complications--whichareparticularly dangerous forpeople withcancer--all three vaccines do the job equally well.They allsignificantly decrease your risk of becomingacutely ill from the virus and being hospitalized or dying from it. n studies, the vaccine nearly eliminated severe infections that required people to need oxygen or be hospitalized,” Dr. Marks says.This isespeciallyimportant for cancerpatients,especially thosewhose treatment may haveweakenedtheirimmune systems.
Assessing the side effects of the COVID-19 Vaccine
Researchersdo not yet have data on thevaccines’actualeffectivenessin people with cancer, including those who are undergoing treatment. It is likely, however, thatthe type of cancer you have willaffect thevaccine’sefficacy,Dr. Marks says.Moreover, chemotherapy, radiation, stem cell or bone marrow transplantation,CAR T-cell therapy,immunotherapy, oranyother treatment that can affectyourimmune systemmay make the vaccine less effective.This does not mean that you shouldskipvaccination. As Dr. Marks emphasizes,“The benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks.”
You shouldalsoknowthatthesecancertreatmentsmay compromise your body’s ability to tolerate the vaccine’s side effects.“The vaccine can cause fever, body aches, headaches, or fatigue, and you have to be able to tolerate these sorts of things to have the best chance of responding to it,”Dr. Marksnotes.It is important, therefore,tospeak withyourdoctoraboutthe best time for you to take the vaccine, especially if you are about to undergo surgery,sothatyou can avoidside effects delayingyour procedure.“There might be an optimal time within your treatment cycle to take the vaccine to have the best chance of responding to it,” Dr. Marksadds. “If you're very ill with your cancer, it might not be the right time to get the vaccine.”
Everycancerpatientis differentand will react differently to the COVID-19 vaccine,which is whyconsultingyour doctoris critical.’mvery encouraged about where we arewith all this,” Dr. Marks says.“It's pretty staggering how wellthe vaccineworks. I want people to be optimistic and excited to getit.”
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