Are COVID-19 Vaccines Effective for Myeloma Patients?
Are COVID-19 Vaccines Effective for Myeloma Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Myeloma expert Dr. Rafael Fonseca shares what’s currently known about COVID-19 vaccine immune response and what he advises for his patients for their optimal protection.
Dr. Rafael Fonseca is the interim director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and serves as the director for Innovation and Transformational Relationships at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Learn more about Dr. Fonseca here.
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Transcript:
Katherine:
We’re hearing that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, but how effective is it for myeloma patients?
Dr. Fonseca:
Thank you. I think that’s a fundamental question. It’s hard to know precisely how to gauge effectiveness when it comes to vaccination because historically, we know that is done by measuring antibodies, and there are a number of publications that are addressing this.
The concern has been two-fold. One is that because the disease itself is something that starts from the person’s immune cells become cancerous, that perhaps that would prevent them from having a very good response. Number two, and perhaps more importantly, will the treatments that are used for myeloma, etc. or lymphoma, can they interfere with our ability to mount an effective immune response? I think the response is mixed right now. I think I tell all my patients the upside is much better than the downside. I think we have a good record now of the safety of this product. I encourage everyone to get their vaccination.
I think it’s important to discuss this with your healthcare provider because sometimes people say, “Should I stop a little bit so that I can get a better response?” While it’s theoretically possible, we don’t want people to stop treatment if they don’t have to do that. Just my very last quick comment, the good news is that the community transmission is clearly going down as more and more people have participated in the vaccination.
We have more people who now have participated in this level of immunity that we have in the community. Hopefully, for patients as well as for their families, the risk of contracting this will continue to decrease.
