US CDC gives recommendations for COVID-19 inoculation after allergic reactions

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was monitoring reports of allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccination and made recommendations on how people with histories of allergies should proceed.

Anyone who had a severe reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine should not get the second dose, the agency said, defining severe as needing the medication epinephrine or treatment in a hospital.

People who have had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient in a COVID-19 vaccine should avoid the vaccine formulation containing the ingredient, CDC said. Two vaccines have been approved in the United States under emergency use authorizations.

Individuals with histories of severe allergic reaction to vaccines should consult their doctors about the COVID-19 shot. The CDC said people with severe allergies to food, pets, latex or environmental conditions as well as people with allergies to oral medication or a family history of severe allergic reactions could still get vaccinated.

The US Food and Drug Administration is investigating around five allergic reactions that happened after people were administered Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine in the US this week.

The FDA said that the Moderna vaccine, which received emergency use authorisation, should not be given to individuals with a known history of a severe allergic reaction to any components of the shot.