Why Colin Powell's cancer likely reduced his protection from the Covid-19 vaccine

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Mon, 2021-10-18 17:41 — mike kraft

Why Colin Powell's cancer likely reduced his protection from the Covid-19 vaccine Gen. Colin Powell died Monday from complications of Covid-19, and experts say his death shows how important it is for more people to get vaccinated and stop the spread of the virus. Jen Christensen, CNN CNN

(CNN) Gen. Colin Powell died Monday from complications of Covid-19, and experts say his death shows how important it is for more people to get vaccinated and stop the spread of the virus.

Powell was fully vaccinated, but a source close to the matter confirmed to CNN he had multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that would have affected his immune response to the vaccine, and made it difficult to fight the virus.

Peggy Cifrino, Powell's chief of staff, said Powell, 84, also had Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder.

Multiple myeloma is among the most common blood cancers in the United States, and it disproportionately affects Black Americans. They have nearly twice the risk of developing the disease as White Americans.

Although the Covid-19 vaccines provide strong protection against severe disease and death in healthy people, multiple myeloma patients are among the immunocompromised groups who may not respond as well, studies have shown. One study published in Nature in July showed that only 45% of multiple myeloma patients developed an adequate response to the vaccine, while 22% had a partial response. One-third had no response. ...

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