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File – In this November 30, 2006 file photo, former Secretary of State Colin Powell is holding the award ceremony for the Alexid Tokville Award, a French literary award, in Tokville, east of Cherbourg, western France. increase. Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Secretary of State Powell died of complications from COVID-19. In a social media announcement on Monday, the family said Powell had been completely vaccinated. He was 84 years old. (AP Photo / Vincent Michel)
Despite being vaccinated with COVID-19, Colin Powell remains vulnerable to the virus due to his age and history of cancer, until more people are immunized. It emphasizes the ongoing risk to many Americans.
Powell, the first black Secretary of State and four-star general to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died on Monday from a complication of COVID-19. Powell, 84, has been treated for multiple myeloma for the past few years. Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that impairs the body’s ability to fight infections and responds well to vaccines.
The COVID-19 vaccine is very effective against hospitalization and death, and unvaccinated vaccines are about 11 times more likely to die from the coronavirus. However, they are not perfect, and experts emphasize that widespread vaccination is important to give the most vulnerable people an additional layer of protection.
Dr. Mangalanarasimha, director of critical care at Northwell Health in New York, said:
In addition, people with weakened immunity due to illnesses such as cancer or cancer treatment may not receive the same level of vaccination as healthy people. Some studies have shown that only 45% of patients with multiple myeloma can develop antibodies that fight protective levels of coronavirus after vaccination.
Age is also a risk, especially months after someone was first vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked reduced protection, especially among older Americans who were among the first to be vaccinated last winter. Decreased protection is the result of weakened immunity or a highly contagious delta mutation.
Dr. Ed Rifsitz, director of medical services for infectious disease services at the New Jersey Department of Health, raised the issue for those who might point out Powell’s death to oppose vaccination.
“My answer is the exact opposite,” he said. “The way to help the most vulnerable people is to keep them from getting the virus in the first place. The best way to do that is to go there and get vaccinated.”
The US government has approved an additional dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to help people with weakened immunity try to improve their response.
And last month, U.S. health officials urged everyone over the age of 65 and others at high risk to receive a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months after the first vaccination. .. Boosters are also being considered by recipients of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
It was not clear if Powell received the additional dose.
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The Associated Press’s Department of Health Sciences is supported by the Department of Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. AP is solely responsible for all content.
Powell’s age and cancer attacks left him vulnerable to COVID | WGN Radio 720
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