Just a day after the United Kingdom implemented its national rollout of the Pfizer/ Covid-19 vaccine, health officials warn people with a history of severe allergic reactions not to participate. This warning came after two nurses suffered an allergic reaction to the vaccine.
The nurses experienced an “anaphylactoid” reaction characterized by rashes and shortness of breath. Both nurses have a history of allergic reactions and carry an EpiPen, which is a device that looks like a fat pen and delivers a dose of epinephrine. People with severe allergic reactions keep EpiPens nearby for emergency use. Both nurses recovered quickly.
The UK health officials reacted immediately with the following guidance: those with significant allergies to food, medicine, and vaccines, should not take the Pfizer vaccine. There are no preservatives in the vaccine, so more studies will be needed to determine possible causes since the clinical trials did not study individuals with a history of severe allergies.
As other companies are also producing a Covid-19 vaccine, people with severe allergic reactions may tolerate one of the other vaccines. Meanwhile, in the US, the Food and Drug Administration will convene an expert panel meeting on December 10, 2020, to determine if emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine should be approved, given its high effectiveness rate. If approved, health officials are likely to disseminate similar warnings.
