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cancer patients seek 2nd vaccine dose within recommended window
kovacik said it’s also about not wasting a single dose of the vaccine, which he fears could happen if the first dose is not paired with the second in a timely fashion
apr 18 2021
3 minute read
allan kovacik, communication director for the southern alberta myeloma patient society, poses for a photo outside the tom baker cancer centre in calgary on friday, april 16, 2021.
azin ghaffari
/
postmedia
by: brodie thomas
cancer patients in alberta are calling on the provincial government to ensure they get their second dose of the vaccine in the manufacturer’s recommended timeframe, after studies suggest the first dose may do little for immunocompromised people.
some patients, like emi bossio, say they’re putting off getting the vaccine altogether, even though they are now eligible.
“i’m totally eligible. i’ve been eligible since march 30th,” said bossio, who has been fighting lung cancer since 2019.
despite that, she’s waiting until she can be sure her second dose will be within the manufacturer’s recommended window.
a study from the u.k. found that the pfizer vaccine efficacy for cancer patients after one dose was much lower than in healthy patients. it also found those same patients reached a much higher immunity of 95 per cent two weeks after the booster if they received the second dose within the recommended 21 days.
the study looked at 151 subjects and has not yet been peer-reviewed. but given the urgency of the pandemic, many cancer patients are sharing the information and lobbying for a shorter time between doses than the current 16-week standard.
bossio said after reading that preliminary study, she worries the extended time between first and second shots may leave her without any true protection.
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“i don’t want to get a shot and then never know if i’m properly vaccinated against covid,” she said, “and the odds aren’t really good that i will be.”
myeloma patient allan kovacik received his first dose of vaccine almost as soon as he was eligible, on march 31. since learning about the study, he’s hoping to get the second dose in the recommended window.
“we’re not asking for special treatment,” said kovacik. “we’re just asking to be treated as the manufacturer … has recommended.”
kovacik is communications director for the southern alberta myeloma patient society, and he said his group is sharing information about the study to its members through social media.
myeloma is a type of blood cancer that affects the immune system. he said he’s been told by doctors that immunocompromised people respond to vaccines differently than healthy folks, and that is why he’s now concerned about getting his second dose quickly.
kovacik said it’s also about not wasting a single dose of the vaccine, which he fears could happen if the first dose is not paired with the second in a timely fashion.
“this does not make sense,” he said. “this could be a total waste.”
medical experts such as the canadian association of pharmacists in oncology and the medical boards of multiple cancer advocacy groups including lung cancer canada and myeloma canada have issued statements calling on governments to adhere to the manufacturers’ recommended window for second doses in the case of cancer patients.
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in an email, alberta health spokesperson tom mcmillan said the province is sticking with the 16-week window for now.
“we are monitoring the emerging evidence regarding second doses for cancer patients and others who may be severely immunocompromised, and we are awaiting a recommendation from the national advisory committee on immunization (naci) and the alberta advisory committee on immunization,” said mcmillan.
in an april 7 paper, the naci acknowledged several studies on vaccine efficacy in immunocompromised patients, but did not say it would change its 16-week recommendation based on those studies.
“there is currently no real world effectiveness data on how the vaccine works in these groups and there is not yet an established direct link between antibody levels or other immune responses to protection against covid-19 disease,” reads the statement.
bossio said a solution doesn’t need to be complicated. it could be as simple as providing a doctor’s note from an oncologist to the pharmacist when getting the first shot, or allowing the pharmacists at provincial cancer centres to give the second dose after verifying a patient’s file.
“i understand there’s a shortage of vaccine,” said bossio. “but it’s not about jumping the queue — it’s about putting patients at the normal protection that people get with one shot.”
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