Lancet paper: COVID-19 vaccines for patients with haematological conditions

[AnnHow]

This paper was published today in the Lancet. Not sure if it’s been posted elsewhere (I tried searching the forum) but thought people might find it interesting.

thelancet.com/journals/lanh...

[cllady01 Former Volunteer]

Thank you for posting.

This study confirms the possible slow to show of antibodies in CLL patients. And antonb has just posted experience of having antibodies appear in a second, later testing.

[Smith123456]

i wish they would have just stated odds. thats the kind of decision this is. if they thought getting the vaccine was 70/30 or 30/70. something like that would be useful

[SofiaDeo in reply to Smith123456]

But this was retrospective data, from early in the pandemic as well as later when we knew better how to treat it. I think it would be inappropriate to try to determine any kinds of odds for future, when treatments have changed. My takeaway from this is 1) that it verifies we have a decrease immune response to this virus like we do to most others and 2) people we come in contact with should get vaccinated, just as those recommendations exist for the yearly influenza.

I am sure there will be later studies attempting to determine to what extent the vaccine actually protects us, as well as the actual titers needed for optimum results. All this retrospective data does, is gives us a baseline to measure future efforts against. It's very necessary, but we can't use it alone as a basis for concluding anything, or projecting anything. If future studies show the mortality rate of HOSPITALIZED patients remains unchanged, one might conclude vaccination doesn't give hematological cancer patients enough protection to fight Covid infections better. But first, we needed good baseline data. This study appears to do do that.

I think part of the confusion is, pre-Covid, years were spent collecting this kind of data before new vaccines were approved. We haven't had the luxury of time to gather data for this bug.

[LeoPa in reply to SofiaDeo]

I think that if the statistical data shows at a later stage that the number of hospitalized CLL patients was reduced significantly, that will be proof that the vaccines do provide protection.

[Justasheet1 in reply to LeoPa]

Leo,

Or that treatments improved, the virus mutated to a less lethal form and on and on. This is not going to be easy to figure out. 🍻Jeff

[LeoPa in reply to Justasheet1]

Yes, I hope they come up with treatments that can be applied at home to avoid hospitalisations and worse.

[Justasheet1 in reply to LeoPa]

Leo,

I’m sure that they are working on it. If it targets this miserable virus specifically rather than relying on our unreliable immune response we’ll be in good shape.

Jeff

[bennevisplace]

Well discovered, thanks for posting.Retrospective, but worthwhile I think.

While the case mortality rates quoted in leukaemia are higher than we might expect with today's much improved treatments, they are still way higher than in the age-matched general population at the time.

The indirect evidence, immune responses to SARS-COV2 infection and vaccine efficacy against other viruses, points in the same direction.

The two recommendations make sense: for folk like us, bring forward vaccination for cohabitants, and ensure access to monoclonal antibodies.