Approximately 225,000 Canadians are diagnosed with cancer each year which means there are millions of Canadians currently battling cancer in our country.

From the outset of the Canadian vaccine rollout, cancer patients (and surely many others with chronic illness and those who are immunocompromised) have been the victims of politics. From a federal government that has not been able to secure enough vaccine to guarantee a second dose at the recommended dosing interval, to NACI recommendations to delay second doses beyond manufacturing guidelines by up to four months to offset the absence of vaccine, cancer patients are suffering the blow back of dysfunctional decision making.

A recent study from the King’s College London and Francis Crick Institute suggests that delaying the second dose for cancer patients leaves them wholly or partially unprotected, explaining that a one-size-fits-all approach is not ideal when dealing with at-risk populations. (Cancer patients 'lack same protection' after first jab)

In Canada, NACI advocated for a universal approach, delaying second doses by up to four months for all Canadians – the longest interval recommended by any country – based on very limited real-world evidence and the reality of Canada’s vaccine supply. 

What we do know:

- According to the Canadian Cancer Society, if you have cancer, you are at higher risk for more serious outcomes of COVID-19. If you have cancer and are undergoing treatments, such as chemotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy (which weaken the immune system), you are at an even greater risk of severe outcomes (including death).

Coming out of the UK study mentioned above, we know:

     - Delaying second doses to between eight and twelve weeks for most cancer patients potentially leave them wholly unprotected. 

- Three weeks after one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, an antibody response was found in: 

·       39% of people with solid cancers (58% less than those with no cancer)
·       13% of people with blood cancer (84% less than those with no cancer)
·       97% of people with no cancer

- Five weeks after the first dose, an antibody response was detected in:

·       43% of people with solid cancers (57% less than those with no cancer)
·       8% of people with blood cancer (92% less than those with no cancer)
·       100% of people with no cancer

- Following a second dose three weeks after the first, which some cancer patients received, there was a sharp rise in their antibody response against the coronavirus, to 95%. But among those who had to wait longer for their second dose, there was no real improvement in protection. 

Cancer treatments have profound effects on the immune mechanisms of cancer patients, likely impairing the body’s immune response to the vaccine and further strengthening the argument against delaying the second dose (note: the first dose primes the system where the second dose solidifies the immune response).  

We have no real-world data indicating when the immune response to the vaccine will drop off after the first dose, putting those with cancer (and potentially, those without) at greater risk. 

Canada's chief science adviser, Mona Nemer, has said the decision to delay second doses amounted to a "population level experiment" and advised against the delay citing a lack of data to back up the decision.

Personally, my family, like so many others, are directly impacted by cancer and have been left feeling hopeless as we desperately try to navigate a system that seems to be fighting against us, not for us.

With your support, I want to demand that our policy makers reduce the interval between first and second doses for cancer patients to ensure the lives of these people, and other at-risk populations, do not become casualties of a seemingly apathetic, political performance.