Some receiving the COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna developed a delayed skin reaction on the rippling days after receiving it, several doctors wrote in a letter published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week.
Doctors in the letter set out 12 cases of delayed skin reactions that appeared about four to 11 days after the first dose of Moderna jab, with an average of eight days. About half of the patients also developed a skin reaction after the second dose, although it was less severe.
The doctors noted that all vaccine recipients received the second dose.
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Most were treated with antihistamines and ice, but some patients required steroid treatments prescribed in a topical or pill form. Most skin rashes resolved after four to five days.
The result was harmless, but could be confused for an infection, which led to the unnecessary use of antibiotics in at least one patient who developed this reaction, they write in the letter.
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“Clinicians may not be willing to address delayed local responses to the mRNA-1273 vaccine. Given the upscaling of mass vaccination campaigns, these responses are likely to provoke problems among patients and requests to evaluate. “We hope that this letter encourages additional reporting and communication regarding the epidemiological features, causes and implications of these delayed skin reactions.” , as this information may alleviate patients’ concerns, encourage vaccination and reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics.
Delayed skin reactions were observed in Moderna’s large clinical trial on the vaccine, which occurred in less than 1% of admissions after the first dose, and only in 0.2% after receiving the second dose.
The doctors noted that all the vaccine recipients received the second dose.
“Since no local injection site reactions or delayed hypersensitivity reactions are contraindications to subsequent vaccination, all 12 patients were encouraged to receive the second dose and complete their mRNA-1273 vaccination course,” they write.
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Kimberly Blumenthal, lead author of the paper and co-director of the clinical epidemiology program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, urged Bloomberg to encourage those who may experience a delayed skin reaction after the first dose to ensure that they have the second received, if this particular reaction is not a danger, she said.
“Our goal was to show how dramatic they can be, while no one got worse at the same time with dose 2,” she said. “So many of the patients I cared for with this were concerned about them. Is it an infection? (No!) Does that mean I can not have dose 2? (No!) Will this happen with dose 2? ( Not necessarily!), “She said.
“It’s a nuisance, but it’s not dangerous,” Blumenthal added.