Twenty-nine recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States suffered severe allergic reactions after receiving the shot, health officials said Wednesday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, occurred among recipients of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccinations, although officials stressed that it was a ‘rare outcome’ and that no deaths were reported. is not.
“As you can imagine, there are tremendous efforts underway to understand what could be the cause of these allergic reactions,” said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the agency’s national center for immunization and respiratory diseases, told reporters.
Messonnier said they are still gathering information on all cases of anaphylaxis – especially with the Moderna vaccine, as it is less than the 4.8 million doses administered so far.
The agency revealed in a report on Wednesday that there were 21 anaphylactic cases out of 1.9 million people who received the first dose of Pfizer vaccine.
Seventeen of the 21 people had a documented history of allergies or allergic reactions, seven of whom had previously experienced anaphylaxis, Messonnier said.
But the rate is higher than among people who got the flu shot.
Influenza vaccines cause anaphylaxis in an estimated 1.3 people per 1 million recipients, while approximately 11.1 Pfizer recipients out of every million have responded, the CDC estimates.
“You can say mathematically that it’s ten times the amount, but I think it’s wrong because it’s still extremely rare,” Messonnier said.
“We all hope that any vaccine will have no adverse events, but even in 11 cases for 1 million doses it is a very safe vaccine.”
She added that the risk of contracting COVID-19 or experiencing a bad result from the virus is still higher.
“Fortunately, we know how to treat anaphylaxis and have made provision on vaccination sites,” Messonnier said.
Anyone who has an allergic reaction to the first dose of COVID-19 is not recommended to get the second shot of the two doses, Messonnier said.
The agency is appealing to anyone with a history of allergies to consult their healthcare provider to determine if they should get the vaccine.
“There is a difference between someone who had a mild allergic reaction in their childhood, and someone who had a severe allergic relationship last week,” Messonnier said.
“It’s going to be important to have a clinician help you exercise judgment instead of having hard and fast rules.”