A Person in the US Suffered a Serious Allergic Reaction After Getting Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Despite Not Having History of Allergies

2020 has done it again.

Earlier in the year, it presented many countries with the unwanted gift of the coronavirus, forcing us to stay in our homes, avoid social gatherings, and scramble to buy toilet paper.

Meanwhile, scientists were scrambling to create a vaccine before the entire world developed cabin fever.

Somehow, astoundingly, scientists managed to do just that.

Less than a year after the coronavirus first emerged, researchers across the globe have developed three promising vaccines.

One of the vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine, has been proven to be 95% effective, far surpassing the expectations of infectious disease experts.

Everyone celebrated, but we must have forgotten that we hadn’t exited 2020 yet, because even the vaccine has presented problems of its own.

A Person in the US Suffered a Serious Allergic Reaction After Getting Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Despite Not Having History of Allergies

A healthcare worker in the US suffered a serious allergic reaction after receiving Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday (15 Dec).

She has remained hospitalised as she’s still under observation.

Just a week ago, two health workers in Britain experienced serious allergic reactions after getting Pfizer’s vaccine.

Just like this woman in the US, the two British health workers suffered anaphylaxis.

The only difference is that the two British health workers had a history of severe allergies, but this woman did not. 

10 minutes after receiving the vaccine at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, Alaska, the woman began having an anaphylactic reaction, according to The New York Times. 

A Pfizer spokesperson said the company doesn’t have all the details of the case yet but is working with the local health authorities.

A Potentially Life-threatening Allergic Reaction

Anaphylaxis is regarded as a serious allergic reaction for a good reason.

It’s an allergic reaction that causes your immune system to release a flood of chemicals which make you go into shock. Your blood pressure drops suddenly and your airways narrow, making it difficult to breathe.

It can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to something you’re allergic to, such as food or medicine.

It’s a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that needs to be treated immediately, as it can be fatal otherwise.

It requires an injection of epinephrine and a follow-up trip to an emergency room.

Those With History of Severe Allergic Reactions Excluded From Pfizer Clinical Trials

What many of us didn’t know is that people with a history of severe adverse allergic reactions were excluded from Pfizer’s late-stage trials, the company said.

Consequently, such allergic reactions were not witnessed in clinical trials.

The vaccine now comes with a warning that medical treatment should be available in case of a rare anaphylactic event.

Pfizer Instructed to Increase Monitoring of Anaphylactic Reactions to Vaccine

In the US, the Pfizer vaccine was authorised for use in adults 16 years and older.

Healthcare providers were warned not to administer the vaccine to anyone with a “known history of a severe allergic reaction” to any component of the vaccine.

This is apparently a standard warning for vaccines.

However, after the two British health workers suffered such serious allergic reactions, the Food and Drug Administration has instructed Pfizer to increase its monitoring for anaphylaxis and submit data on it once the vaccine has been used more broadly.

Pfizer said the vaccine should be given in settings with medical equipment to treat anaphylaxis.

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