No additional danger for people with cancer if they are vaccinated against Covid-19. It is the result of a study published this month of February 2022 and conducted by the National comprehensive cancer network (NCCN), an alliance of 31 cancer centers, most of which are based in the United States.
Between February and May 2021, researchers observed side effects in 1,753 people who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine three weeks apart. 1183 of them had a history of cancer, and 17.8% of them were then under treatment. Either a part of the population very at risk from Covid-19: “Some respiratory complications of COVID-19 can be serious and life-threatening, in addition to the risk associated with cancer“, specifies the National Cancer Institute on its site.
“Despite their vulnerability to infection, cancer patients have not been included in most SARS-CoV-2 vaccine pilot surveys and have rarely been analyzed as a group in follow-up studies.“, recalled the researchers at the beginning of their study.
Classic side effects
In people treated for cancer (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy or surgery) as well as for those who have already been treated for cancer, the side effects remain the same as in a healthy person.
The participants, who responded to the study by telephone or online, reported pain at the site of the injection (the side effect most often indicated), fever, chills, headache or even nausea and fatigue. Either side effects felt by the entire population.
What is RNA?
Messenger RNA vaccines, used against Covid-19, inject ingredients necessary for the creation of the Spike protein present in SARS Cov-2 – the virus responsible for Covid-19. The idea: teach the immune system to recognize these proteins, and thus better defend them when the virus arrives in the body.
Sources:
- Adverse Events Reported by Patients With Cancer After Administration of a 2-Dose mRNA COVID-19 VaccineNational comprehensive cancer network (NCCN), February 2022
- Covid-19: answers to your questions, National Cancer Institute
Read also:
- Covid-19: one million cancers could not be diagnosed
- Cancer drugs: the League is mobilizing against shortages
