Value of influenza vaccines in cancer patients during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 29; no. 11; pp. 6225 - 6231
• Main Authors: Aznab, Mozaffar, Eskandari Roozbahani, Narges, Moazen, Homa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-11-2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Antimitotic agents; Antineoplastic agents; Cancer patients; Carboplatin; Care and treatment; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Immunization; Influenza; Influenza Vaccines; Male; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - epidemiology; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Original; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Pandemics; Prevention; Rehabilitation Medicine; SARS-CoV-2; Side effects; Vaccination; Vaccines; Young Adult; Influenza vaccines; COVID-19; Cancer patient; Pandemics
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-021-06204-x

Background
According to the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting
influenza vaccines
during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemics is especially important for people with certain underlying medical conditions, like cancer. Due to the similarities between the symptoms of influenza and COVID-19, receiving the flu vaccine in suspicious cases can be helpful because it will make it easier to request a medical test and diagnosis. In this study, the value of influenza vaccination in the cancer population was investigated.
Methods
In a cross-sectional study, all cancer patients who were referred to our clinic and had eligibility to receive the flu vaccine were included in our study for following up clinical signs every week for one month. All patients who were vaccinated from October 1 to November 15, 2020 were investigated. The most side effects that were followed were fever, runny nose, bone pain, and life-threatening or persistent adverse effects.
Results
From a total of 288 patients (median age: 52 years (range 18-79), 112 (38.9%) males and 176 (61.1%) female) with different types of cancers, only two patients had an adverse effect of vaccination (including bone pain, runny nose, and fatigue), and one had COVID-19 ten days after vaccination. The rest of the patients did not show any side effects due to flu vaccination after one month of follow-up. Cancer patients are recommended to receive the flu vaccine annually during the pandemic and after the end of this pandemic, usually during the flu epidemic season to reduce mortality.