Covid-19 Vaccines and Allergies

Many allergy patients are concerned about the possibility of an allergic reaction to the available coronavirus vaccines. Even though you may have allergies to medications, food or to airborne substances, this does not mean you will have a bad or severe allergic reaction to the vaccines. The CDC reported on 1/15/21 that :” During December 14–23, 2020, monitoring by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System detected 21 cases of anaphylaxis after administration of a reported 1,893,360 first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (11.1 cases per million doses); 71% of these occurred within 15 minutes of vaccination.” So far as of January 13, 2021 about 6 million doses of the vaccine have been administered. The New York Times reported 29 patients have had anaphylactic reactions, none of which have been fatal.

There is one report about a physician in Florida who developed an unusual blood platelet disorder shortly after he received the Pfizer vaccine. This case report is under investigation.

For now, it appears that allergic patients do not necessarily have increased problems with reactions to the Covid virus vaccine Since we are dealing with a contagious and sometimes fatal disease, vaccination should be done unless there is documented evidence of allergy to a component of the vaccine. While it has not been proven the additive, polyethylene glycol, in both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, is thought to be the culprit in causing the allergic reactions. This substance has been known to be a rare cause of allergic reactions. It is found in many medications and is the active ingredient in some laxatives. If you have had allergic reactions to these products, please speak with allergist / immunologist to see if you will be able to receive the vaccines. Our office has polyethylene glycol available for testing if warranted.

It is usual to have some reactions to the vaccines, these include local swelling, discomfort, pain and redness at injection site. These injections are given in the muscle. There also can be low grade fever, aching, flu like symptoms, headache, nausea and fatigue. By the third day after vaccination most symptoms are gone. These are not allergic reactions. Examples of allergic reactions, generalized, rash, redness, hives, swelling, shortness of breath, vomiting diarrhea, or passing out. If you have been told to carry an epi pen ,make sure you have it with you when you get the shot.