COVID-19 vaccination status in Indian patients with cancer
Ullas Batra, Shrinidhi Nathany, N.K. Bansal, Mansi Sharma
Abstract
Background: Patients with cancer are at an increased risk of severe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Hence, safe and efficacious vaccination against COVID-19 may play a crucial role in conferring protection to this group of patients. Objectives: As there are no dedicated trials testing the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in immunocompromised individuals or patients with cancer, we conducted this study to assess the vaccination status of Indian patients with cancer. Materials and Methods: This single-center observational study was conducted in the Department of Medical Oncology at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Delhi, India, between March and June 2021. Patients with cancer were interviewed telephonically to obtain information related to their vaccination status. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with cancer who received a COVID-19 vaccine. The Chi-squared test and McNemar's test were used to determine the associations between the different variables and the vaccination status. Results: Of the 752 patients included in the study, 219 (29.1%) had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of these, 34 (15.5%) patients subsequently developed COVID-19. They were treated in domiciliary care and did not require hospitalization. Of the 533 patients (70.9%) who were not vaccinated, 117 (21.9%) tested positive for COVID-19 and 14 (11.9%) succumbed to the disease. Conclusion: Our study suggests that there is probably a lack of awareness or fear related to vaccination, which should be addressed to avoid COVID-19-related cancer mortality.