Allergic reactions following vaccinations are nothing new. But after two healthcare workers in England suffered reactions to the Pfizer vaccine, health officials are warning that people with a history of allergies may need to move further back in the vaccine line.
In the UK, people with allergies are being advised to wait until more is known about this reaction before getting the shot.
Both people are said to be recovering well and it is not clear what sort of reaction they had.
The Pfizer study found that allergic reactions were rare during clinical trials and occurred at a similar level between people who received the vaccine and those who received the placebo, although people with serious allergies were excluded from participating.
It is not immediately clear how this will impact the FDA’s vaccine advisory panel, which is reviewing the Pfizer vaccine for approval Thursday.
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, professor of pediatrics and infectious disease at Stanford, says this is common with new vaccines and it is likely that the FDA and local health authorities will advise all patients to wait in the office after getting the shot, especially people with a history of allergies and children, in case they have a reaction.
“Obviously in adults they’ve had a history of these, but when you’re immunizing babies and young children you may not have had time to manifest an allergic reaction. So we do make sure that people are aware and watch those because they usually occur within 20 minutes or so.”
These types of allergic reactions can be easily treated in a doctor’s office with a shot of epinephrine or adrenaline.
“The other may be that some jurisdictions will say we don’t want you to get vaccinated at this time until we’ve had a chance to know how many people have these kinds of severe allergic reactions.”