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Cancer patients who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 suffer an increased risk of infection or death from the virus compared to those who did get their shots, a new study finds.
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) found unvaccinated veterans with a cancer diagnosis were 1.7 times as likely to contract Covid as their peers who received the jab.
Unvaccinated patients were also found to have a 1.6 times increased risk of death from the virus.
While previous research shows that the vaccine is less effective in people with some cancers, these findings suggest that - even with the decreased efficacy - getting the jab is still worth it for cancer patients.
Researchers found that unvaccinated cancer patients (orange line) were at a 70 percent increased risk of COVID-19 infection and 60% increased risk of death from Covid when compared to their vaccinated peers (blue line)
The study in veterans finds that the vaccine is not as effective in cancer patients as it is in the general population - which is confirmed by other studies as well - but still does provide a certain level of protection (file image )
Researchers, who published their findings on Thursday in JAMA Oncology, matched nearly 30,000 vaccinated U.S. veterans receiving care from the VA to 30,000 unvaccinated veterans.
Each matched
