Colin Powell’s age and cancer left him vulnerable to Covid-19
- Colin Powell died on Monday age 84 from Covid-19 complications
- He was fully vaccinated, but had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer
Despite getting vaccinated against Covid-19, Colin Powell remained vulnerable to the virus because of his advanced age and history of cancer.
Powell, who previously underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 2003. He had early-stage Parkinson’s disease, said a close friend who asked not to be named. He had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma prior to falling ill with Covid-19.
In multiple myeloma, cancerous cells crowd out healthy blood cells. Complications include frequent infections that impair the body’s ability to fight infections – and to respond well to vaccines.
“The more people that are vaccinated, the less we have viral spreading in the community, the less chances of people like him getting infected to begin with,” said Dr Mangala Narasimhan, chief of critical care at Northwell Health in New York.