Pfizer vaccine protects cancer patients against COVID-19 - study
The majority of people actively undergoing cancer treatment can still develop a high enough level of antibodies from taking the Pfizer vaccine to protect them against COVID-19.
By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMANAn illustrative photo of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Good news for cancer patients: A new, first-of-its-kind study published by Israelis researchers has shown that most people actively undergoing cancer treatment can still develop a high enough level of antibodies from taking the Pfizer vaccine to protect them against COVID-19.The study by Davidoff Cancer Center researchers at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva held between February 22 and March 15 tested 102 patients with cancer who were receiving active treatments and 78 controls, the family members who accompanied them for their treatment.Ninety-two cancer patients, or about 92%, and all of the controls had detectable antibodies after the second Pfizer vaccine shot.“We found that there is a high level of antibodies that provides complete protection to 90% of oncology patients during active treatment against cancer,” Prof. Salomon M. Stemmer, director of the center’s Oncology Research Unit, told The Jerusalem Post.“The majority of cancer patients… developed good levels of antibodies against COVID-19 to feel safe and continue their regular behavior just like the general population,” he said. “This is great news for the patients.”The oncology patients developed lower-level antibodies than the healthy people, Stemmer said.The study was published over the weekend in the JAMA Oncology peer-reviewed journal.The patients, whose average age was 66, had a variety of cancers, including breast, lung, colon and brain.The study was published amid worldwide concerns that these patients may not have been able to develop enough protection against the virus by taking the vaccine and against the backdrop of an understanding that patients with cancer are at higher risk of developing a severe case of the virus.The paper cited a study performed early in the pandemic in Italy. It showed that hospitalization was higher among patients with cancer (56.6%, compared with 34.4%), and so was the death rate (14.7%, compared with 4.5%).
The study shows that “vaccination of these patients should be seriously considered,” JAMA reported.Further research would be required to determine the “magnitude and duration of protection the vaccine provides to patients with cancer,” the report said.It recommended that in the meantime, patients with cancer should continue with precautionary measures, such as wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.
