Health care worker had allergic reax
A New York City health care worker experienced a “significant allergic reaction” after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, the city Health Department revealed Wednesday.
More than 30,000 people in the city have gotten the shot since it was first administered to a Queens ICU nurse last week, and so far there has only been one “adverse event” as a result, according to the department.
“We have received a single report of a serious adverse event in a health care worker,” the Health Department said. “The health care worker, who had a significant allergic reaction, has been treated and is in stable condition.”
“Vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, are very safe, in general. They do have side effects, and occasionally those side effects include some uncommon allergic reactions,” said City Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi. “These reactions are rare, but they’ve been reported with the Pfizer vaccine in recent days.”
Chokshi pointed to several reasons supporting that the vaccine is safe, noting that experts thoroughly scrutinized trials, which he said both included a sizable number of people — 44,000 for the Pfizer vaccine and more than 30,000 for the one put out by Moderna.
“That size really matters,” he said.
Followup with recipients after getting the vaccine during trials also lasted for a relatively long period, two months.
The Health Department declined to release more details about the adverse reaction to the vaccine when contacted by the Daily News, but said in its statement that it is “closely tracking reports of more severe side effects in collaboration with the CDC.”
“This is the first such event that was recorded in New York City,” Chokshi said. “We’ll continue to follow up on those events and make sure that we’re taking it seriously.”
Chokshi noted that people with food and seasonal allergies should not be concerned about being vaccinated.
“If you have a history of an allergic reaction to a previous vaccine or to any medicine that you’ve taken by injection, then it’s important for you to have a conversation with your doctor before you get vaccinated,” he said.