Avoid COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech if you are allergic to medicines or food

The UK’s medicine regulator states any person with a history of anaphylaxis to medication or food should not get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, increasing its guidance on a more immediate allergy alert about the shot, the first against COVID-19 to have secured approval. “Any individual who has a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food items should not get the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine,” June Raine, Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced in a declaration.

She added that the second dose of the vaccine should not be given to anyone who had experienced anaphylaxis during the taking the first dose of the vaccine.

The United Kingdom this week became the first nation in the world to start vaccinations against COVID-19, but after reports of three potential allergic reactions from individuals who had their jabs on the first day of the mass immunisation programme advised those with a “vital allergic reaction” to medicines, vaccines, or food should not get the injection.

The earlier information did not specify anaphylaxis, which is a critical and very life-threatening response to a trigger, usual foods including milk, nuts and shellfish, as well as medications like aspirin. Other triggers include bee stings and latex.

Signs of anaphylaxis involve having difficulty breathing, a fast heartbeat, feeling faint. A subject may also catch a rash. The reaction demands critical treatment, and many people who experience critical allergies often carry adrenaline auto-injectors.

The MHRA allowed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use last week, flagging the way for the start of a UK-wide vaccination initiative on Tuesday.

The agency announced it was renewing its guidance after two events of anaphylaxis and one report of a likely allergic reaction following vaccination.

“Most people will not get anaphylaxis, and the advantages in guarding people against COVID-19 exceed the chances,” Raine emphasised.

“You can be absolutely certain that this vaccine has met the MHRA’s robust standards of protection, excellence and effectiveness. The security data has also been critically evaluated by the government’s autonomous advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines. No vaccine would be recommended unless it resorts these rigorous standards – on that you can be certain.”