This Moffitt study will determine how effective the COVID-19 vaccine is for patients on active cancer treatment as cancer patients were not included in the clinical trials for the vaccines. Additionally, the study aims to better understand the side effects that cancer patients experience following vaccination.
Building off our TCC protocol, clinicians and researchers are looking at the immune response in cancer patients receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. We do this by comparing the amount of virus-fighting antibodies in a person’s blood before getting the vaccine to that after receiving the second dose of the vaccine. Patients are getting blood drawn prior to each dose of the vaccine, as well as a third blood draw around 28 days after completing the vaccination series.
"After you have had a COVID-19 infection or received the vaccine, your body makes antibodies. These antibodies are your immune system’s way of remembering the threat and how to eliminate it. So, our blood draws for this study will be measuring COVID-19 antibodies in the patients’ blood and if they are long-lasting in the body," said Dr. Anna Giuliano, founding director of the Center for Immunization and Infection Research in Cancer at Moffitt.
True to Moffitt's culture, many research and clinical teams came together to develop and implement studies quickly in response to the pandemic. One operational leader who is helping this research study succeed is Genesis Blanco.
"This collaboration would not have been possible without the amazing work all of our departments and team members put in. All of us coming together for the benefit of our patients truly exemplifies the belief in our mission."
- Genesis
