Former US Secretary of State and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell was fighting blood cancer and thus had a compromised immune system when he contracted COVID-19, media reported on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2021) Former US Secretary of State and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell was fighting blood cancer and thus had a compromised immune system when he contracted COVID-19, media reported on Monday.
Powell had been successfully treated for multiple myeloma, a cancer of white blood cells in the bone marrow, The New York Times said citing Powell's aide Peggy Cifrino.
Powell died on Monday at the age of 84 due to coronavirus-related complications, his family said in a statement. He was fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Powell became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1989 and served in that position for four years. In 2001, former US President George W. Bush tapped Powell to serve as secretary of state. Powell accepted the offer and left the post in 2005. Powell supported current President Joe Biden during his 2020 presidential campaign.
