A health worker in Alaska developed a severe allergic reaction and was hospitalized after taking Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, state officials said Wednesday. The worker, who is middle-aged with no history of allergies, is now stable, but is being monitored at a hospital in Juneau.
The employee received the vaccine at Bartlett Regional Hospital on Tuesday. After 10 minutes of vaccination, she had a “flush” and shortness of breath, said Dr. Lindy Jones, an emergency room physician at the hospital. Jones said the employee’s heart rate was elevated and she had a “red, red rash” on her face and torso.
She was given Benadryl, Pepcid, and epinephrine and was left overnight. “Throughout the time, she was still excited about getting the vaccine and the benefits it would bring her in the future,” Jones said.
According to Dr. Jay Butler, the CDC’s deputy director for infectious diseases, this is the only case of an allergic reaction to the vaccine.
The FDA approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use after clinical studies in the US showed that the injection was nearly 95% effective for adults 18 to 64 years of age. None of the 44,000 participants experienced any side effects.
Dr. Anthony Fauci reminded viewers in a CNBC interview that vaccine safety “goes beyond the boundaries” of clinical trials. “Once you decide to distribute the vaccine on a large scale, you’re talking millions and tens of millions and eventually hundreds of millions of doses. So you may see reactions that you didn’t see in the clinical trials,” he said Wednesday.
Last week, British health officials warned that people with a history of “significant” allergic reactions to vaccines, drugs, or food should not receive the Pfizer vaccine. Two health workers there experienced “side effects” after taking the drug.
“We expected an adverse reaction like this to occur after reports of anaphylaxis were made in England after people there received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, said in a statement Wednesday. “All sites approved to provide vaccinations in Alaska must have drugs on hand to treat an allergic reaction, and that was the case in Juneau.”