Colin Powell was the first Black national security adviser, the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first Black secretary of state. As secretary of State, he was fourth in the presidential line of succession. According to a statement from his family, Colin Powell was fully vaccinated and was treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Colin Powell, the trailblazing soldier and statesman, has died from Covid complications at the age of 84.
Powell, who was fully vaccinated against Covid, had several underlying conditions. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease and had been treated recently for multiple myeloma, according to a Powell family spokesperson.
Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that hurts the body’s ability to fight infections.
Fully vaccinated people with weakened immune systems make up a large proportion of hospitalized breakthrough cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Powell had also undergone surgery for prostate cancer when he was secretary of State nearly two decades ago.
Powell and his wife, Alma Powell, tested positive for Covid a week ago. Alma Powell, who will soon turn 84 herself, has been suffering Covid symptoms and was recovering at home, the spokesperson said.
Colin Powell had planned to get a booster shot last week, but he wasn’t feeling well enough to get it, the spokesperson added. Colin Powell was fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but had to fight an uphill battle due to underlying conditions. His death highlights the dangers of COVID-19 for people with weakened immune systems.
While there aren’t any specifics on Powell’s case, you can imagine that he received top-notch care at Walter Reed Medical Center. But his body was compromised already, due in large part to a blood cancer called multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that attacks the system meant to protect the body from sickness. A potentially deadly mix when coupled with COVID-19.
Tadeu Ambros, an oncologist and hematologist with Florida Cancer Specialists said, “it is a bad diagnosis because the immune system is already compromised and will not fight as a normal immune system would. And that’s true to every infection and that includes COVID.”
Found in white blood cells, or plasma, cancerous cells start producing abnormal antibodies. As the disease progresses, patients may have more frequent infections, bone problems, reduced kidney function and anemia. All conditions that deplete the body’s ability to fight. It’s why doctors stress the importance of vaccinations.
“Not only the two doses that have been approved but also the third booster dose which we have been recommending because of recent studies showing that only two RNA vaccines might not be sufficient to protect you from COVID. And this is particularly important with a patient with multiple myeloma, on treatment, or just with multiple myeloma,” said Dr. Ambros.
At 84-years-old the former secretary of state had several multiple myeloma risk factors. Most patients are in their 60’sor older. Men are more likely to have it than women and so are African Americans. It is not public knowledge when Powell was diagnosed or what treatment he underwent, but options and outcomes have greatly improved over the years.
“So the treatment is a combination of multiple different agents, they are not really chemotherapy. But it’s a combination of pills, injections, and intravenous medications that are actually highly effective nowadays. It’s amazing how this field has advanced in the last 5 or 10 years, the prognosis has become much, much better because of that,” said Dr. Ambros.
Ultimately, the combination of COVID-19 and co-morbidities were too much for Colin Powell to defeat.
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