Most vulnerable still in jeopardy as COVID precautions ease

By LAURAN NEERGAARD: For Complete Post, Click Here…

Two years into the pandemic Jackie Hansen still left home only for doctor visits, her immune system so wrecked by cancer and lupus that COVID-19 vaccinations couldn’t take hold.

Then Hansen got a reprieve — scarce doses of the first drug that promises six months of protection for people with no other way to fend off the virus.

“This is a shot of life,” Hansen said after getting injections of Evusheld at a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center clinic. She can’t wait to “hug my grandkids without fear.”

Up to 7 million immune-compromised Americans have been left behind in the nation’s wobbly efforts to get back to normal. A weak immune system simply can’t rev up to fight the virus after vaccination like a healthy one does. Not only do these fragile patients remain at high risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, they can harbor lengthy infections that can help spark still more variants.