Colin Powell remained vulnerable to the virus because of his advanced age and history of cancer, highlighting the continued risk to many Americans until more of the population is immunized.
Powell, a four-star general who became the first Black secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died Monday from complications of COVID-19. Powell, 84, had been treated over the past few years for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that impairs the body’s ability to fight infections — and to respond well to vaccines.
Seniors on Medicare Are Getting A Big Surprise This Month.
The COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against hospitalization and death, and the unvaccinated are about 11 times more likely to die from the coronavirus. But they are not perfect, and experts stress that widespread vaccination is critical to give an added layer of protection to the most vulnerable.
“The more people that are vaccinated, the less we have viral spreading in the community, the less chances of people like him getting infected to begin with,” said Dr. Mangala Narasimhan, chief of critical care at Northwell Health in
New York.
Moreover, people with weakened immune systems because of illnesses like cancer — or cancer treatments — don’t always get the same level of protection from vaccinations as healthier people. Several studies have found as few as 45% of people with multiple myeloma may develop protective levels of coronavirus-fighting antibodies after getting the vaccine.
Age also is a risk, especially months after someone is first vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tracked dips in protection, especially among older Americans who were among the first people vaccinated last winter. The reduced protection is the result of either waning immunity or the extra-contagious delta variant.
Dr. Ed Lifshitz, medical director of the Communicable Disease Service at New Jersey’s Health Department, took issue with those who might point to Powell’s death to argue against getting vaccinated.
“My answer is really just the opposite,” he said.
“The way that you help those who are most vulnerable is by not letting the virus get to them in the first place, and the best way to do that is to go out there and get vaccinated.”
The U.S. government has authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for people with weakened immune systems to try to improve their response.
And last month U.S. health authorities urged booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for everyone 65 and older once they are at least six months past their initial vaccination, along with other people at high risk. Boosters also are being considered for recipients of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
It was not clear if Powell had received an extra dose.
Kathy Giusti, founder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, recalled meeting Powell when he spoke to the advocacy group about his diagnosis in 2019, and he “connected with every patient, caregiver and doctor in the room.”
In a statement, she said that in addition to vaccinations, cancer patients should consider other precautions such as sticking with masks and avoiding crowds.
SOURCE: Powell’s age and cancer bout left him vulnerable to COVID (msn.com) @SlideShow – 1 of 5 Photos in Gallery.
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RELATED: If You Use This Medication, Throw It Away Now,
Read the original article on Best Life.
If You’re Over 60, Do Not Take This OTC Medication Every Day.
Officials Say, “As you get older you’re more likely to have a number of medications you take every day to address ongoing health issues.”
Some of these are likely prescribed by your doctor, while others maybe
over-the-counter (OTC) medications or vitamins that are thought to be beneficial to your day-to-day activities.
But are you regularly taking something you shouldn’t be?
U.S. officials are now recommending that anyone over the age of 60 remove one very common OTC med from their daily routine altogether, because it might end up more harmful than beneficial for older adults. Read on to find out what medication you should not be taking every day.
RELATED: If You Use This Medication, Throw It Away Now,
Iain Davis of In-This-Together.com joins James Corbett to discuss his new book, Pseudo pandemic: New Normal Technocracy.
In this conversation Davis lays out the copious documentation demonstrating how the pseudo pandemic was generated, identifies the larger agenda behind the push toward implementing the technocratic biosecurity state and talks about what we can do to stop this nightmare from becoming a reality.
WATCH: Iain Davis Dissects the Pseudo Pandemic – Off Guardian.
For links, sources and show notes – plus download options and
an audio-only version – click here.
Vaccine Efficacy or vaccine effectiveness is the percentage reduction of disease cases in a vaccinated group of people compared to an unvaccinated group. For example, a vaccine efficacy or effectiveness of 80% indicates an 80% decrease in the number of disease cases among a group of vaccinated people compared to a group in which nobody was vaccinated. When a study is carried out using the most favorable, ideal or perfectly controlled conditions, such as those in a clinical trial, the term “vaccine efficacy” is used. On the other hand, when a study is carried out to show how well a vaccine works when they are used in a bigger, typical population under less-than-perfectly controlled conditions, the term “vaccine effectiveness” is used.
State Total Cases +Increase Fatal cases +Increases _ Full Vaccinated%
COVID Live Update: 242,179,000 Cases and 4,925,087 Deaths from the Coronavirus – Worldometer (worldometers.info)
Scientists are closely tracking a new variant spreading in the UK that could be 10% more infectious than Delta (msn.com)
DRAFT Families of Parishes Updated | PDF | Mary, Mother Of Jesus | Jesus (scribd.com)
Source: Coronavirus (COVID-19) live map tracker from Microsoft Bing
This vaccine could stop five different coronaviruses (msn.com)
Biden Made a Promise to End Discrimination Against Puerto Ricans.