2 Cancer Patients Get Third COVID-19 Shot From Northwell Health

NEW HYDE PARK, NY — New York's largest hospital system began giving a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to cancer patients on Tuesday, a move that one doctor says will send a "profound and deeply important message" to the public.

Arthur Magee and Dr. David Chiang — two patients undergoing treatment at Northwell Health Cancer Institute — got their booster dose of the Moderna vaccine at the hospital's New Hyde Park site. The event comes days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized third doses of the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines for certain people with weakened immune systems.

At 81, Magee still works as a tax preparer despite recently being diagnosed with squamous cell cancer. The disease required the Brooklyn resident to undergo radiation therapy for one side of his face and chemotherapy for his ear.

"I've had no side effects from the first two shots," Magee told a crowd of reporters on Tuesday. "They're working and I'm hoping that I'm around for next year."

Chiang, a Long Island resident and practicing obstetrician, has been battling lung cancer for the last five years. He said he was eager to get the third dose of the Moderna vaccine on Tuesday.

"I remember before the vaccines came out I was scared like everybody else," Chiang, 60, said. "Now with the first shot, second shot — and for immunocompromised — a third shot gives me some peace of mind."

Northwell Health, which is headquartered in New Hyde Park, sees more than 19,000 cancer patients every year, according to administrators. The treatments they receive — such as chemotherapy and radiation treatments — can affect their immune system, making them more prone to infections.

Dr. Richard Barakat — physician-in-chief and director of the Northwell Cancer Institute — says COVID-19 has hit cancer patients particularly hard, and that widespread vaccinations are needed in turning the tide on the pandemic.

"It's not enough just to take care of our most immunocompromised patients," he said. "The message to the public is we need everyone in this fight. Every one who can needs to be vaccinated. It's the only way for us to end this terrible pandemic that has affected all of our lives for over a year and a half now."

As of Wednesday, Long Island has reported more than 394,800 cases of COVID-19 and more than 6,600 deaths related to the virus, according to local public health data. In Nassau County, 71.4 percent of residents have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, while in Suffolk County, 65 percent of people got jabbed.