Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe and Effective for People With Colon Cancer?
Is the COVID-19 Vaccine Safe and Effective for People With Colon Cancer? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Dr. Smitha Krishnamurthi, a colon cancer specialist at Cleveland Clinic, provides vaccine safety information and discusses the effective immune response after COVID-19 vaccination in patients with colon cancer.
Dr. Smitha Krishnamurthi is a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Learn more about Dr. Krishnamurthi here.
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Transcript:
Katherine Banwell:
Is the COVID vaccine safe and effective for people with colon cancer?
Dr. Krishnamurthi:
Yes. The COVID vaccine is safe. We have no data that patients with colorectal cancer or patients who are undergoing chemotherapy are at any increased risk of any side effects from the vaccine. People should be able to make a good immune response. Patients who are not able to make a good immune response are those who are getting very high-dose chemotherapy, like a bone marrow transplant or an organ transplant. But chemotherapy for colorectal cancer should not be problem. We basically advise – I ask all my patients to get the vaccine. They should just get it whenever they can. They don’t have to worry about timing in regards to their chemotherapy.
Katherine Banwell:
Okay. Dr. Krishnamurthi, thank you so much for joining us today.
Dr. Krishnamurthi:
Katherine, thank you so much for having me. It’s been such a pleasure.