Modern COVID-19 vaccine can cause swelling in people with fillers

• As advisers from an FDA advisory committee heard, the Moderna coronavirus vaccine caused swelling in the face in two participants in the study with recent fillers.
• The swelling is an immunological reaction to the vaccine. Inflammation is part of the immune system that starts in gear, and it can also react instantly to foreign objects, including fillers.
• Experts believe that it may not be possible for people who have had cosmetic fillers in the past to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
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During the review of the Modern Coronavirus Vaccine, advisers at a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) meeting were told that the vaccine caused temporary swelling in the face in two participants in the study. Both recently received dermal fillers.

Dr Litjen Tan, chief strategy officer of the Immunization Action Coalition, told Insider the response is nothing to worry about. It is simply proof that the immune system is working.

“This is reflected in the systemic reactions we see, such as a day or two with mild fever, etc.,” Tan wrote in an email to Insider. “The same immune response may also respond to the cosmetic fillings, as these fillings will be considered ‘foreign’ (immunologically speaking).”

The inflammation seen in these patients is a natural immune response to a substance not naturally within the body.

This may sound intimidating, especially for people who contributed to the 64% increase in cosmetic procedures – mainly botox injections and lip fillers – in the early months of lockdown.

But experts say it should not stop patients from being vaccinated.

“One thing to know is that individuals with these reactions after vaccination can be easily treated with steroids and inflammatory drugs without long-term harmful outcomes,” said Dr. David Verhoeven, an expert in virology and professor of veterinary microbiology and preventive medicine at Iowa State University, told Insider.

If patients had bowel fillers that did not completely resolve, experts recommend that they talk to their primary care physician about their options.

“I would definitely suggest that the individual notify their healthcare provider that they have had a bowel injection so that the healthcare provider is aware of the possibility of an adverse reaction,” Verhoeven told Insider.