People with a history of severe allergic reactions to medicines, food, or vaccinations should not receive a Pfizer / BioNTech vaccination for now. The British medicine agency MHRA is making that call after two vaccinated people had an allergic reaction, British media write.
The pair have been treated and are doing well. The complication occurred shortly after the administration of the vaccine, which the United Kingdom started on Tuesday. According to experts, it is a severe allergic reaction, but not of the highest category and easily treatable.
First mention
It is the first time that an allergic reaction has been reported following the administration of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. For example, nothing about it is mentioned in the recently published and mostly favorable report of the American drug watchdog FDA on the drug. The European agency EMA is also very positive about the vaccine, the director told Nieuwsuur today.
The British MHRA is still investigating whether the allergic reaction was really caused by the injection against the corona virus. However, as the UK vaccination program is already underway, err on the side of caution.
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If you are going to vaccinate millions of people, it is inevitable that there will be rare reactions.
Experts stress that thousands of Britons have now been vaccinated and that the complication has only been reported in two people. They also point out that allergic reactions to vaccinations are rare, but can also occur, for example, with the flu shot or other vaccinations.
“If you are going to vaccinate millions of people, it is inevitable that there will be rare reactions”, says professor of immunology Marjolein van Egmond (Amsterdam UMC).
Multiple components
In addition to the active substance, a vaccine contains other ingredients. For example, to make it more durable or to prevent mold from entering. The British investigation is still ongoing, but according to Van Egmond, the pair were probably allergic to the other substances in the vaccine used.
“The warning applies to people who may be allergic to other vaccines or drugs. But they do not contain RNA and therefore possibly one of the other ingredients.” In short, RNA is a small piece of genetic material and has never before been used on a large scale for vaccinations.
Contact with GP
Talk to your doctor before getting vaccinated – the immunologist will give that advice to people who have had a severe allergic reaction to a vaccination in the past. “See if it contains the same substances that can cause such a reaction again. Because then it is important that you do not get vaccinated.”
This makes it even more important that the rest of the population is vaccinated against the corona virus, says Van Egmond. So that group immunity arises “and people who cannot receive a vaccination also remain safe”. Because the dangers of the virus are many times greater than those of the vaccine.
‘With flying colors’
That is also the final conclusion of the US FDA report on the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. As with any vaccine, there are adverse side effects. Headache, muscle pain and puncture arm pain were common during the three testing phases. But the drug agency sees “no specific safety concerns” that stand in the way of approval of the vaccine.
“If you read the report, it has passed with flying colors”, says Van Egmond. The European EMA is expected to publish its evaluation of the vaccine on December 29.