Experts: Powell Age, Other Health Conditions Likely Impacted Death

Powell's COVID case is considered a breakthrough infection – getting sick with COVID after being fully vaccinated.

Colin Powell died Monday from COVID-19 related complications. Medically, that means damage to organs other than the lungs.

"COVID can cause clots that can then go and cause problems throughout the rest of the body," Northwestern Medicine's Dr. Justin Fiala said. "When we talk about complications of COVID, really, what we're talking about is kind of these downstream effects that come along with the critical illness that's caused by the virus."

Powell's underlying health conditions – Parkinson's and multiple myeloma put him at higher risk of severe COVID, even with vaccination. Myeloma – a blood cancer – makes it harder for the body to fight infection. Research shows those patients don’t get as much protection from COVID vaccines.