[ad_1]
The UK Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned against administering the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) to people with a history of severe allergic reactions.
MHRA issued the advisory on Wednesday evening, December 9, 2020, after receiving two reports of anaphylaxis or severe allergic reactions and a possible allergic reaction after vaccination.
“Anyone with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, drug or food should not receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. A second dose should not be given to anyone who has experienced anaphylaxis after the first dose of this vaccine, “MHRA Executive Director June Raine said in a statement.
Raine said the two people who developed severe allergies were treated immediately and recovered well.
Allergic reactions are among the known side effects of any vaccine, but Raine said they are very rare and that the benefits of being immunized still outweigh the risks.
“Most people will not experience anaphylaxis, and the benefits of protecting people against Covid-19 outweigh the risks,” Raine said.
He advised those who are scheduled to be vaccinated to proceed with their appointment.
“You can be completely confident that this vaccine has met the MHRA’s robust standards for safety, quality and efficacy. The safety data has also been critically evaluated by the government’s independent advisory body, the Human Medicines Commission, ”Raine said.
“No vaccine would be approved unless it meets these strict standards, you can be sure of that,” he added.
He said they have convened an Expert Group from the Commission for Human Medicines (CHM) to review reports on anaphylaxis and consider any possible mitigation of the risk of anaphylaxis.
Raine also assured that a security monitoring strategy has been implemented to enable rapid and real-time security monitoring at the population level.
The strategy works as indicated by immediate reports of allergic reactions, he said.
Vaccine recipients are monitored for 15 minutes after inoculation, with a longer observation period when indicated after clinical evaluation. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)
[ad_2]
