By A Donlan – Fred Hutch Cancer Center –
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly became clear that certain populations were particularly at risk for severe disease. Individuals undergoing hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT) or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CART) therapy for hematological malignancies were particularly at risk for severe disease, as these patients often undergo treatments which heavily reduce their immune cell reserves and leave them vulnerable to infections, including by SARS-CoV-2. Dr. Emily Rosen, now an infectious disease fellow in Dr. Catherine Liu’s Group in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, described her experience working as a medical resident during the peak of the pandemic; “I saw first-hand the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on patients who are immunocompromised.”
