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Prone to infection and would even actually compromise the ability of vaccines to work. so he had multiple myeloma, which is a cancer of the plasma cells. the plasma cells are the cells that actually produce antibodies, so he had a disease that impaired his immunity, and the treatment he received for that disease also impaired his immunity. when i think about general powell, he is sort of the index case for why we need to vaccinate the public and why young people need to be vaccinated. because it's not just protecting the person who receives the vaccine, who may be a young person who may do qui...

Party affiliation, the former four-star general and secretary of state paved the way for so many like secretary of defense lloyd austin. >> the world lost one of the greatest leaders that we have ever witnessed. she lost a great husband and the family lost a tremendous father. and i lost a tremendous personal friend and mentor. >> reporter: at 84 years old, powell was among the most vulnerable to the pandemic ravaging the planet. he had been vaccinated but he was also suffering from parkinson's disease and being treated for multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood's plasma cells. beating wreake...

It makings a real difference. >> good day, jim. >> great to have that perspective. also joining us now, cnn medical analyst dr. jonathan reiner. what we learned from colin powell's family in their statement that he was fully vaccinated but had died from complications of covid-19. we've now learned that he had multiple myeloma according to a source familiar with the matter. this is a cancer of the plasma cells. it can suppress your immune system. it's important to put this in context. >> right. multiple myeloma is a disease that itself suppresses the immune system but it's also important to und...

Mentioned persons with this rare albeit blood cancer are less likely to mount an appropriate immune response to vaccinations. their plasma cells responsible for creating antibodies are impacted by this type of cancer. >> and so your message be for people who say well, see, he got vaccinated and it didn't help him. isn't it the case getting the vaccine was the best chance he had of fighting covid but as you said, his body was not as able to respond to the vaccine the way that somebody who didn't have multiple myoloma would? >> anybody using this as fighting getting the vaccine has absolutely no...

He was 84 years old. this, if anything, reaffirms the need for people to get vaccinated to protect people like general powell. >> when we talk about herd immunity, just sort of philosophically it means enough people get vaccinated that you protect the most vulnerable among us. people who can't get vaccinated or are vulnerable because of age, because of talking about his multiple myeloma which is a difficult cancer when it comes to immunity. this is cancer of the very cells that produce the antibodies, right? so it's the plasma cells that produce the antibodies. we also know we can put it up th...