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Millions of people in the U.S. are being vaccinated for COVID-19. However, discussion is ongoing as to whether people who are immunocompromised, such as patients undergoing cancer treatment, or people who have autoimmune diseases, should be vaccinated for COVID-19.
"Both of those categories (of people) should be vaccinated," says Dr. Gregory Poland, an infectious diseases expert and head of Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. "Those are not contraindications. Those are indications to get the vaccine." He adds that research is ongoing, but current information demonstrates the benefits far outweigh the theoretical risks.
In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Poland talks about vaccine hesitancy, and patients who are immunocompromised or have autoimmune conditions. Also, he discusses next steps in the journey to vaccinate children for COVID-19. And he reviews recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Control about in-person gatherings.
To practice safe social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, this interview was conducted using video conferencing. The sound and video quality are representative of the technology used. For the safety of its patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in an area not designated for patient care, where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
Read the full transcript.
Connect with others talking about the pandemic and supporting one another in the COVID-19 support group.
Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date.
For more information and all your COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.
Dr. Poland has served as a consultant for Merck & Co. Inc., Medicago Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, Sanofi Pasteur, Emergent BioSolutions Inc., Dynavax Technologies Corp., Genentech Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., Kentucky BioProcessing Inc. and Genevant Sciences Corp., and Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. He is a paid scientific adviser for Johnson & Johnson. Honoraria: Elsevier.
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@gaylekse @Erinmfs @1nan @amandajro @rosemarya @merpreb and @rainna, in this podcast Dr. Gregory Poland answers questions you asked and that many members on Mayo Clinic Connect are asking about people who are immunocompromised, such as patients undergoing cancer treatment, or people who have autoimmune diseases, and vaccination for COVID-19.
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3 ReactionsAs always, thank you Dr. Poland for sharing your expertise with us.
Thank you. Getting 1st dose next Tuesday. 🥳
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1 ReactionI received my 1st dose on Feb. 27th and my only side effect was the expected arm pain at the injection site for about 1 1/2 days. My 2nd shot is scheduled for March 23rd and I can't wait to be fully vaccinated!
Thank you for the information to this link. After viewing this video, I am even more excited that I will be fully vaccinated on March 23rd and will be sure to continue to keep myself isolated for 14 days thereafter to allow my antibodies to build up as instructed by my primary care provider here at Mayo Clinic. This medical facility has saved my life on 2 occasions. First in 2009 from a condition that had nothing to do with any form of cancer that I had spent 6 months going from specialist to specialist with no resolution while my body continued to deteriorate. I was literally on my last leg when I stopped at a red light on the corner of Beach Blvd and San Pablo Blvd in Jacksonville, FL. My energy was so depleted that I had to rest my head on my steering wheel and immediately fell asleep. I was awakened by car horns blowing for me to move. As soon as I lifted my head from my steering wheel I saw a sign that said Mayo Clinic with an arrow pointing left. I made the turn and walked into the lobby of the Davis Bldg. It was already 6:45pm but I slowly walked to the information desk and told the person there that I thought I was dying. She immediately, even before taking my insurance info., called a nurse out to speak with me. The nurse simply stated "start at the beginning and tell me how you arrived to this point". I won't go into all of the details because it is too long of a story to tell here, but I saw 2 physicians who were still in their offices prescribing medical notes and was admitted at 6am the next morning. I left Mayo feeling like superman. Ten years later, after seeing several specialist with no resolution or actual diagnosis of my problem I again contacted and turned to Mayo where I was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive tumor in stage 1a which had never been diagnosed that early in the entire medical community. My care team developed a treatment plan with my input and 2 year later I am alive, I have minimal residual effect ( some ongoing fatigue) and I am thankful that Mayo Clinic, my care team physicians, and their social workers exist. I would not have made it without them. I recognized this is my personal experience but I choose to share it because it can become a personal experience for someone else in need. I hope this will be helpful to someone. While I have nothing against any physician or medical center, I truly believe that I was blessed in 2009 when I saw the sign directing me to Mayo Clinic's Jacksonville, FL campus and I have full confidence in following their recommendations on treatments and the covid19 vaccine.
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3 Reactions@jerzgirl000
What an amazing story. You had an angel on your shoulder that day at the traffic light. And what a testimonial to the caring staff at Mayo. I have had my 2 pfizer shots and congratulate you on your upcoming second one. It will put your mind at ease and hopefully give you a positive outlook....although you sound pretty positive to me. Thanks for sharing.
FL Mary
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3 ReactionsThank you for your affirmation. You make me feel that posting my experience was the right thing to do. I, like you, believe I had an angel on my should and I will be forever grateful to that angel, to Mayo and it's staff.
@jerzgirl000, Yours is an incredible story and so wonderful that "synchronicity" brought you to Mayo at that critical time. A toast to Mayo for being there for you on that late afternoon and for all the wonderful work they do. Sigh, just wish we had one closer to where I live. Thank you for your sharing and so happy that because of your experiences at Mayo, you are still here to share them with us!