In new studies from the Case Western Reserve University, scientists found breakthrough COVID-19 cases resulting in infections, hospitalizations, and deaths are significantly more likely in cancer and Alzheimer’s patients.
People with these diseases are often more susceptible to infection in general, the researchers explained, and are among the population’s most vulnerable to severe health outcomes from COVID-19 infections as well.
The studies come as the U.S. total of COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began surpassed 1 million.
In the study, researchers analyzed electronic health records to track the number of breakthrough COVID infections, hospitalizations, and mortality rates among vaccinated patients with cancer.
A “breakthrough infection” is when a fully vaccinated person contracts COVID.
The team counted people diagnosed with the 12 most common types of cancer: lung, breast, colorectal, bladder, liver, endometrial, skin, prostate, thyroid, and blood cancers.
These participants received COVID-19 vaccinations between December 2020 and November 2021 and had not previously been infected. The control group consisted of vaccinated participants without cancer.
The team analyzed the records of more than 636,000 vaccinated patients, including more than 45,000 vaccinated people with cancer.
They showed significantly increased risks for COVID-19 breakthrough infection in vaccinated patients with cancer, especially those undergoing active cancer care, with marked variations among specific cancer types.
In another study, researchers analyzed electronic health data to examine the incidence rate of breakthrough COVID-19 infections in those diagnosed with some subtypes of dementia.
The researchers chose to examine data on breakthrough COVID-19 cases in those with dementia because, while vaccines are effective, breakthrough infections are possible, and older adults with dementia were underrepresented in vaccine clinical trials.
The researchers examined anonymous electronic health data from more than 262,847 adults 65 or older vaccinated between December 2020 and August 2021, and who didn’t have the infection before being vaccinated.
Of that number, 2,764 people were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease; 1,244 with vascular dementia, 259 with Lewy body dementia, 229 with frontotemporal dementia, and 4,385 with mild cognitive impairment.
The researchers found that vaccinated patients with dementia had an overall risk for breakthrough infections ranging from 10.3% for Alzheimer’s disease to 14.3% for Lewy body dementia, much higher than the 5.6% in the vaccinated older adults without dementia.
They say patients with dementia have a significantly higher rate of breakthrough COVID infections after vaccination than patients of the same age and risk factors other than dementia.
Therefore, continued vigilance is needed, even after vaccination, to protect this vulnerable population.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about drugs that could protect you from severe COVID-19, and Zinc may help prevent severe COVID-19.
For more information about COVID, please see recent studies about people who are 5 times more likely to have COVID-19 reinfection and results showing scientists find a new treatment option for COVID-19.
The studies were conducted by Rong Xu et al and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
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