COVID-19 Story Tip: Kimmel Center Experts Help Create COVID-19 Vaccine Guidelines for Patients with Cancer

01/26/2021

kimmel tip
Cancer care providers now have guidelines about vaccinating their patients against COVID-19, thanks to a national committee that included two experts from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Credit: Graphic created by M.E. Newman, Johns Hopkins Medicine, using public domain images and text from the new National Comprehensive Cancer Network vaccination guidelines

On Jan. 22, 2021, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a nonprofit alliance of leading U.S. cancer centers, issued new information to provide guidance for COID-19 vaccinations in people with cancer. The guidelines were created by the NCCN COVID-19 Vaccination Advisory Committee which includes two leaders from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, William Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., and Carol Ann Huff, M.D., as well as other top hematology and oncology experts across the nation who have particular expertise in infectious diseases, vaccine development and delivery, medical ethics, and health information technology.

The new guidelines can help cancer care providers make informed decisions on how to protect their patients from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, based on available evidence plus expert consensus. According to the committee’s recommendations all people currently in active cancer treatment should get the vaccine, with special attention to issues such as immunosuppression and timing.

 

The full document can be accessed at www.nccn.org/covid-19, along with other vital information about the impact of COVID-19 on cancer care.

 

Nelson and Huff are available for interviews.