People with serious allergies should avoid Pfizer vaccine
LONDON — Britain’s medicine regulator has advised that people with a history of significant allergies do not get Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID19 vaccine after two people reported adverse reactions on the first day of rollout.
Starting with the elderly and frontline workers, Britain began mass vaccinating its population Tuesday, part of a global drive that poses one of the biggest logistical challenges in peacetime history.
National Health Service medical director Stephen Powis said the advice had been changed after two NHS workers reported anaphylactoid reactions associated with receiving the vaccine. They were among the thousands who received the shot Tuesday.
“As is common with new vaccines the MHRA (regulator) have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination, after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday,” Powis said. “Both are recovering well.”
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it would seek further information and was investigating as a matter of priority, and Pfizer and BioNTech said they were supporting the MHRA’s investigation.
Last week, MHRA became the first in the world to approve the vaccine, developed by Germany’s BioNTech and Pfizer, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) continue to assess the data.
“Last evening, we were looking at two case reports of allergic reactions. We know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn’t a feature,” MHRA Chief Executive June Raine told lawmakers.
Pfizer has said people with a history of severe adverse allergic reactions to vaccines or the candidate’s ingredients were excluded from their latestage trials, which is reflected in the MHRA’s emergency approval protocol.
The new MHRA guidance, sent out to health professionals, said a much broader segment should not take the vaccine.