Newsletter - Stay Safe this Summer

A Message from Dr. Tony Blau

We at All4Cure learned of some very sad news last week. An All4Cure participating patient with multiple myeloma and his spouse both developed COVID-19 infections last month and, while the spouse recovered, the patient died. While this would have been less remarkable a few months ago, it was noteworthy that both the patient and his spouse received their first of two planned COVID-19 vaccinations only days before the onset of illness and months after COVID-19 vaccines had become widely available. This was especially tragic because of the patient’s clinical history. He had a very aggressive form of myeloma that persisted through many different lines of therapy. However, he had a dramatic and sustained response to a drug received as part of a clinical trial and had remained in remission for the preceding 18 months. COVID-19 snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

What can this patient’s experience teach us? First, patients with multiple myeloma are at an extremely high risk of serious complications from COVID-19 infection. Mortality rates due to COVID-19 among hospitalized patients with multiple myeloma have been estimated to range between 27% and 57%. Second, patients with multiple myeloma have severely impaired immune systems. That means that even though all myeloma patients should receive the COVID-19 vaccine, for many patients, vaccination may provide little or no protection. Third, and most importantly, it is vital that family members and other close contacts of patients with multiple myeloma be vaccinated. The normal immune systems of family members and other close contacts can create a protective bubble around their loved ones with myeloma. 

Finally, myeloma patients should remember that even vaccinated individuals may harbor COVID-19 and yet be asymptomatic. As a myeloma patient myself, I plan to wear a mask around crowds and even around vaccinated family members who have been in crowds for some time to come.

While I had planned to write about other, more uplifting things at All4Cure, no message is more urgent.