The Colon Club

I was very surprised the first doses of the new vaccine in Houston were sent to MD Anderson. This was not because the staff was afraid of the patients, but to safeguard the patients from the staff.I think it was a well educated move!

Bro Nut,

Nice to see your post. I understand the staff will be vaccinated, butt can the patients get the vaccine too? Around the same time?

I want the vaccine, the sooner the better.

Sista Nut

I was at MSK today and the nurse told me they haven’t gotten them yet - they will first go to healthcare workers treating Covid patients.

Last week, my Northwestern nurses had heard nothing about timing etc.

Lee wrote:Bro Nut,

Nice to see your post. I understand the staff will be vaccinated, butt can the patients get the vaccine too? Around the same time?

I want the vaccine, the sooner the better.

Sista Nut

I don't believe so at this time as most cancer patients are smart enough to follow protocol, and I really don't know how safe the vaccine would be to the immune system challenged. Good to hear from you Lee!

Just for clarity, Pfizer and Moderna are mRNA vaccines, which means that there is not even a complete killed virus involved. In general, concerns over vaccine safety for immunicompromised individuals are associated with weakened live virus vaccines. None of the potential COVID-19 candidates uses that method. (Immunotherapy may present other considerations; I’m not suggesting that, though, just not commenting on it.) While it is my understanding that no clinical trial for COVID-19 vaccines has enrolled immunicompromised patients, significant side effects have not been seen In immunicompromised patients for other killed virus vaccines or recombinant-protein-based vaccines in the past. This includes even patients with hematological malignancies, who generally receive stronger immunosuppressive therapy than solid tumor patients. Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca are I believe adenovirus-vector vaccines, which also have good safety histories in immunocompromised people.

While there are, of course, open questions of efficacy in immunocompromised populations, even here the news is relatively promising. While the flu vaccine has widely varying response rates and levels in immunocompromised patients (with lower efficacy in hematological cancer patients, for example), it has shown safety and some levels of effectiveness in even that population. And the flu vaccine not a super-effective vaccine, overall. It’s effectiveness in healthy people is usually 40-60%. By contrast, Pfizer and Moderna reported 95% effectiveness in healthy subjects.

Finally, as long as one seroconverts (develops antibodies) in response to the vaccine, it is likely that the *worst* effects of COVID-19 infection — the most severe consequences — will be avoided regardless of whether infection is blocked. This also is seen with the influenza vaccine, and is another reason to get the vaccine here. Overall, the current COVID-19 vaccine candidates appear likely to be safe for most people whose immune function has been affected by CRC treatment, with efficacy varying by nature and extent of therapy/compromise, active/past therapy, time from therapy, and the individual health of the recipient.

Just wanted to chime in here. My sister-in-law is a nurse in Lincoln, NE, and is getting the vaccine today.

Very happy for her, and I'm looking forward to getting it myself, since I'm anxious to finally get back to getting out of the house.

peanut_8 wrote:Just wanted to chime in here. My sister-in-law is a nurse in Lincoln, NE, and is getting the vaccine today.

Very happy for her, and I'm looking forward to getting it myself, since I'm anxious to finally get back to getting out of the house.

Well there's the other sister nut!

peanut_8 wrote:Just wanted to chime in here. My sister-in-law is a nurse in Lincoln, NE, and is getting the vaccine today.

Very happy for her, and I'm looking forward to getting it myself, since I'm anxious to finally get back to getting out of the house.

Hi peanut, miss you & the gang,

Lee

Hi...My daughter is an oncology nurse at Johns Hopkins. She received her vaccination today. I'm a patient at MSK and got an email stating that they would send patients info when as to when they can vaccinate patients.

roadrunner wrote:Just for clarity, Pfizer and Moderna are mRNA vaccines, which means that there is not even a complete killed virus involved....

Thanks, roadrunner! Good info in your post.

What I'm wondering is does being a CC survivor put you into one of the more higher risk groups that gets vaccinated earlier.

ginabeewell wrote:I was at MSK today and the nurse told me they haven’t gotten them yet - they will first go to healthcare workers treating Covid patients.

Last week, my Northwestern nurses had heard nothing about timing etc.

That is so weird. My husband was there the same day as you and he said the MSK vaccine clinic was on Dr. K's floor! One of the nurses was talking to him about it. I have seen some pics of nurses and Doc's getting vaccinations on their social media too. I am hopeful that when he goes back in January they will be giving the vaccine to patients.

My oncologist told me she got her first shot this week. Even though I’m finished with chemo and my white blood count has recovered, she said that she would like me to get it as soon as possible.

She said that she doesn’t know how it will be rolled out. If she gets a shipment to distribute, she said she would prioritize my getting it, but for all she knows, it will just be at CVS and be given on a first come first serve basis.

polluxx wrote:My oncologist told me she got her first shot this week. Even though I’m finished with chemo and my white blood count has recovered, she said that she would like me to get it as soon as possible.

I remember when I was on chemo my onc wanted to make sure I got my flu shot as soon as possible. I certainly understand the urgency now.

polluxx wrote:My oncologist told me she got her first shot this week. Even though I’m finished with chemo and my white blood count has recovered, she said that she would like me to get it as soon as possible.

She said that she doesn’t know how it will be rolled out. If she gets a shipment to distribute, she said she would prioritize my getting it, but for all she knows, it will just be at CVS and be given on a first come first serve basis.

I saw my Northwestern oncologist yesterday, and she had just gotten the vaccine. She didn't have any info regarding when patients would receive it, and did caution me that anyone with a compromised immune system would have diminished effectiveness - but she reinforced that any improved protection would be good and advised that i should get it. She did not know whether i would be getting it via the NW system or via CVS / Walgreens.

The latest guidance suggests that elderly 75+ get prioritized ahead of immunocompromised people. If that happens, my sister (a social worker who works with Children's Hospital) and both my parents would be vaccinated before me! Now that is something we REALLY did not expect!!