Nichola Oakenfull is partially vaccinated against Covid-19, but she’s still scared.
The Wellington woman was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer) during alert level 3 last year – a diagnosis that may reduce the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine.
“It is very scary because I’m doing as much as I can to try and keep myself safe, but you are relying on others to keep you safe as well,” she told Stuff.
Two vaccine doses don’t offer Oakenfull the same level of protection as it does non-cancer patients. One study found two-thirds of multiple myeloma patients have some immune response to mRNA vaccines, but many have levels that likely provide only partial protection.