UK INVESTIGATES ALLERGIC REACTION TO BIONTECH-PFIZER VACCINE

Wed 09 December 2020:

British regulators said people with a history of serious allergic reactions should not receive the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Regulators revealed two reports of possible allergic reactions from people who received the shot on the first day of the country’s mass coronavirus vaccination program.

“We’re looking at two case reports of allergic reactions,” Dr. June Raine, head of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), told a Parliamentary committee. “We know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn’t a feature.”

National Health Service (NHS) medical director Stephen Powis said both patients were recovering well and that it was standard practice to receive updated advice from the MHRA.

The MHRA will continue to monitor people who received the vaccine, which trials have proven to be highly effective in preventing COVID-19, the respiratory disease linked to the novel coronavirus.

The BBC reported that the two people had their adverse reactions shortly after receiving their vaccinations. The BBC said they appeared to be anaphylactoid reactions, which tend to involve a skin rash, breathlessness and sometimes a drop in blood pressure, rather than anaphylaxis, which can result in death.

The MHRA said that vaccinations should not be carried out in facilities without resuscitation equipment.

Pfizer and BioNTech said they were working with investigators “to better understand each case and its causes.’’