The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine causes allergic reactions at a rate higher than “ what one might expect from other shots, ” says chief scientific advisor for Operation Warp Speed
- Dr. Moncef Slaoui said the last time he was aware of allergic reactions was on Tuesday, when there were six cases
- ‘That frequency, as it looked yesterday, is superior to what you would expect from other vaccines,’ he said
- There are discussions between the vaccine manufacturers and the National Institutes of Health to consider conducting clinical trials of the vaccines in highly allergic groups
- Potential study may look at vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, although reactions have only been reported by people who received a Pfizer injection
The chief scientific adviser to Operation Warp Speed said Wednesday that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine causes more allergic reactions than is typically seen with other vaccines.
Dr. Moncef Slaoui said the last time he was aware of allergic reactions was on Tuesday when there were six cases, CNN reported.
“That frequency, as it looked yesterday, is superior to what you would expect from other vaccines,” he said.
Dr. Moncef Slaoui said the last time he was aware of allergic reactions was on Tuesday, when there were six cases of allergic reactions
Dr. Slaoui noted that the data on vaccinations against the coronavirus lags behind the actual figures.
He added that there are discussions between the vaccine makers and the National Institutes of Health to consider conducting clinical trials of the vaccines in highly allergic populations, ideally those carrying an EpiPen.
By doing the trial, you could understand what is causing the allergic reactions, Dr. Slaoui said.
On Monday, an official from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNBC that the United States is investigating why people have developed serious allergic reactions after taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
There are discussions between the vaccine manufacturers and the National Institutes of Health to consider conducting clinical trials of the vaccines in highly allergic groups
A study is currently in the early planning stages and is expected to include “several hundred” people with a history of severe allergic reactions, said Alkis Togias, chief of NIAID’s Allergy, Asthma, and Airway Biology Branch.
His department will lead the investigation, which will hopefully begin in the coming weeks.
The study may look at vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, although the reactions have only been reported by people who received an injection of Pfizer.
A health worker in New York City became the sixth known person to have a ‘severe’ allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine.
Two British health workers went into anaphylactic shock when they got it in the first week it was handed out, and three in Alaska also got similar reactions.
More than 30,000 COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed in New York City, and they are the only known individuals to have had a reaction.