This news is expected -- but this is the first study with a "control group" covering cancer treatment and Covid vaccination in detail. COVID-19 vaccines less effective in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/12/02/COVID-19-vaccine-cancer-study/8101638455121/ Dec. 2 (UPI) -- COVID-19 vaccines offer less protection in people with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, but are still better than no protection at all, a study published Thursday by JAMA Oncology found. Cancer patients who received chemotherapy within three months of their first dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines had a 57% lower risk for symptomatic illness following COVID-19 infection after being fully vaccinated than those who were not vaccinated, the data showed. However, women with breast cancer treated with endocrine, or hormone, therapy within three months of getting vaccinated had 76% protection against the virus after becoming fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, cancer patients who had not undergone treatment of any kind for at least six months before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine had 85% protection against the virus once they became fully vaccinated, according to the researchers. People are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving the second dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, both of which require two shots. Cancer patients who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine were excluded from the analysis, the researchers said. "COVID-19 vaccines are effective in patients with cancer, but effectiveness appears to be reduced in certain groups, especially those actively receiving chemotherapy and those who are immunocompromised for another reason," study co-author Nathanael R. Fillmore told UPI in an email. "However, for some other groups, such as those receiving only endocrine therapy, effectiveness appears to be similar to that observed in the general population," said Fillmore, associate director for machine learning and advanced analytics with the VA Boston Healthcare System. The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines lower the risk for serious illness following COVID-19 infection by more than 90% in those who are fully vaccinated, studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. That figure, howver, is for currently circulating variants of the virus -- such as the Delta strain, and not the new Omicron strain -- and for people who are not immunocompromised, meaning they do not have weakened immune systems. Previous studies have found that people with cancer and those undergoing certain treatments for the disease have weakened immune systems and thus poorer responses to the COVID-19 vaccines, indicating the need for booster doses. Still, given the increased risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19 for people with cancer, vaccination is vital, researchers say. For this study, Fillmore and his colleagues analyzed data on more than 29,000 cancer patients who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and compared infection rates within this population to those of a similar number of unvaccinated cancer patients. Within an average of seven weeks after becoming fully vaccinated, 161 study participants in the vaccinated group tested positive for COVID-19, while 275 in the unvaccinated group tested positive. There were 17 COVID-19-related deaths in the vaccinated group and 27 in the unvaccinated group, the researchers said. Vaccine efficacy for all cancer patients in the study, whether or not they had recently undergone treatment, was 58%. "Our findings suggest that vaccines may not be as effective at preventing infections in some groups of patients with cancer, meaning that these patients may still be at risk of becoming infected even though they are vaccinated," Fillmore said. "Thus, even after vaccination, these patients may need to continue to exercise caution and limit their exposure to potential infection," he said. Tag: COVIDVACCINES COVIDCANCER
Novavax says it could start making Omicron-specific vaccine in January https://www.reuters.com/business/he...-omicron-specific-vaccine-january-2021-12-02/ Tags: COVIDVACCINES
The vaccines are likely to arrive after peak spread. The concept of peak spread is based on the hope we develop neutralizing antibodies to Omicron. (Natural Immunity) If we do not develop neutralizing antibodies naturally then the vaccines are unlikely to be effective for the high risk. The current public health message should be all about doing our best to support and improve our natural immune systems. If we not doing that we are creating incubators for future mutations and now we know this virus can mutate quickly around at least some of our defenses.
Unvaccinated people who catch the virus account for the generation of over 99% of the variants -- effectively they are variant factories. We should not be promoting any strategy which involves urging people to get Covid and not protecting themselves with standard proper public health measures such as masks and social distancing. Sweden and other countries have proven that pursing natural immunity is a farce and involves a huge misery and death toll for no purpose. Vaccination is the proper and successful path out of the Covid pandemic.
For the next 100 days, would you rather face Omicron with a strong healthy immune system or a highly compromised immune system and vaccine induced antibodies which were design to neutralize previous variants? I have seen zero science which states that 99% of the antibodies come out of the unvaccinated. (do you have proof of this over a sufficient time period and not just the few months where the vaccinated produce strong antibodies? ) Virtually every scientist just interviewed by the media on the planet just told that dangerous variants are likely to come out of those with compromised immune systems.