People with severe allergies say they don’t know if they have Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine. and BioNTech SE, and public health authorities on both sides of the Atlantic are giving conflicting advice.
The British medical regulator warned people with severe allergies to food, vaccines or medicines against getting the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after two serious allergic reactions among vaccine recipients in that country.
Two health workers in Alaska also developed allergic reactions after receiving the vaccine, requiring hospitalization. Unlike the UK regulator, the US Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada have only advised against giving the injection to people with a known history of severe allergic reactions to any part of the vaccine itself.
Some patients in the US and UK said they were amazed and unsure of what advice to follow.
“I am absolutely concerned about it,” said Abigail Espinoza, a 43-year-old mother of three and architectural design student in Astoria, Oregon, who said the incidents in the UK were a cause for concern. She has severe allergies to pistachios and penicillin, which can lead to problems with her breathing. To treat possible allergic reactions, she has an epinephrine autoinjector.