Cancer patients are recommended to get vaccinated against COVID-19 before undergoing chemotherapy or a month after its completion, said oncologist Arkady Aksenenko.
“Cancer is not considered a contraindication for vaccination any more. And today vaccination is available for cancer patients, except for those who are on chemotherapy: they are recommended to wait for some time and limit their contacts as much as possible so as not to get infected,” Aksenenko quotes TASS.
According to him, chemotherapy causes a weakening of the body and immunity due to toxic effects.
“It leads to the deterioration of the cardiac, pulmonary, and renal function. But one month after chemotherapy the person begins to feel good, the first toxicity reactions go away, and then they can get vaccinated. Ideally, of course, it is better to get vaccinated before a course of chemotherapy than after it,” he added.
Alexander Rumyantsev, President of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Dmitry Rogachev National Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology” explained that vaccination prevents the development of a specific disease, and, therefore, for cancer patients, whose health is weakened, it is necessary to get vaccinated.
“For example, in our practice we proceed on the basis of the pediatric vaccination calendar, which includes up to 15 vaccinations. If a child gets cancer, we treat him or her during the acute phase. And when the intensive phase of treatment ends and the supportive phase begins, we immediately vaccinate such child,” he stressed.
Adult cancer patients are vaccinated against influenza annually, provided they are not in the acute phase of the treatment, Rumyantsev added.
“All other recommendations are the same as for any other people. Since this virus circulates actively in the environment, and the last strain of the virus is very contagious, one person may give the virus to 8-10 other people, whereas for the Wuhan virus the number was two. Therefore, personal protective equipment is extremely important here: people have to wear a mask and cleanse their hands or wear gloves,” he said.
Aksenenko added that cancer patients also need to limit social contacts during non-working days, especially if they are recovering after intensive therapy.