By UK regulator issues allergy warning on Pfizer vaccine
People with ‘significant’ history of allergies have been told to avoid the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid jab after two NHS staff suffered adverse reactions.
The advice applies to those who have had reactions to medicines, food or vaccines, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said.
The two people who had a reaction shortly after having the new Covid jab had treatment and are both fine now.
The pair are among thousands of people who received the first dose of the jab yesterday, as the biggest vaccination programme in the UK’s history got under way.
All patients scheduled to receive the Pfizer vaccine will now be asked if they have a history of allergic reactions.
The two people affected are understood to have had an anaphylactoid reaction, which tends to involve a skin rash, breathlessness and sometimes a drop in blood pressure. This is not the same as anaphylaxis which can be fatal.
Both NHS workers are said to have a history of serious allergies and carry adrenaline pens around with them.
Professor Stephen Powis, medical director for the NHS in England, said both individuals were recovering well.
“As is common with new vaccines, the MHRA have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely,” he said.
Dr June Raine, head of the MHRA, said it was only right to take this step now that “we’ve had this experience”.
Several thousand people were vaccinated yesterday in hospital clinics around the UK.
