Summary
Study reveals 1 in 12 advanced lung cancer patients died from COVID-19 during the Omicron wave, highlighting the variant’s significant risk despite lower severity.
A study looked at advanced lung cancer patients who got COVID-19 during the Omicron wave. Omicron is a highly contagious COVID variant. Researchers wanted to see the risk of death from COVID for these patients.
The study included over 1,500 lung cancer patients from around the world who got COVID. The study found that 1 out of 12 lung cancer patients with COVID from Omicron died. This shows Omicron still carries a significant risk of death for lung cancer patients even though it often causes less severe disease compared to earlier variants. Those with non-small cell lung cancer had a lower death rate from COVID than those with small cell lung cancer. The study shows advanced lung cancer patients should continue taking steps to avoid COVID infection during Omicron waves.
Though not as deadly as early variants, Omicron still leads to a high burden of death for this group. Lung cancer patients should stay up to date on their COVID vaccinations and boosters to help prevent severe illness and death from the virus.
