People with blood cancer don’t know they might not be fully protected by the COVID-19 vaccine, a charity has warned.
Blood Cancer UK surveyed around 1,000 people and found that 80%, or four in five, had not been told by the NHS that their weakened immune systems reduced the chances of having an effective response to the disease. coronavirus stroke.
This means that people with blood cancer are at a higher risk of contracting the virus, despite having two injections, and are more likely to get seriously ill, the charity said.
“We have known from the start of the vaccination program that people with compromised immunity are less likely to be protected by vaccines, and in recent months, research we have funded has shown that many blood cancers and treatments have a significant impact on vaccine response, “said Gemma Peters, Managing Director of Blood Cancer UK.
“I am really concerned that many people with blood cancer have not yet been informed and therefore cannot make informed decisions to better protect themselves, even after their second injection.”
Research from the charity suggests that patients with blood cancer make up a high proportion of COVID-19[female[feminine intensive care admissions.
Some 230,000 people in the UK are living with blood cancer.
The charity is calling on the government and the NHS to launch a campaign on the effectiveness of vaccines in immunocompromised people.
“The government needs to communicate with every person who is immunocompromised to let them know they are at risk and to make this life-saving message a key part of their communications,” said Ms. Peters.
“With the increased rate of infection, failure to act quickly could lead to more unnecessary deaths.”
A study in March found that three weeks after the first dose of Pfizer jab, the antibody response was only seen in 13% of people with blood cancer, compared with 39% of people with solid cancers and 97 % cancer free.
Professor Adele Fielding, President of the British Society for …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-07-01 21:43:00
