Coronavirus vaccines could have potential allergic reactions, assures new study

A team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital reassures potential allergic reactions to new COVID-19 vaccines and stresses that people with food or medication allergies can safely be vaccinated.

Reports of possible allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, both recently approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have raised public concern.

A team of experts led by allergists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has now examined all relevant information to offer reassurance that the vaccines can be administered safely even to people with food or medication allergies.

The study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, in response to accounts of potential allergic reactions in some people following COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom, that country's medical regulatory agency advised that individuals with a history of anaphylaxis to medicine or food should avoid COVID-19 vaccination.

After closer review of the data related to allergic reactions, however, the FDA recommended that the vaccines be withheld only from individuals with a history of severe allergic reactions to any component of the COVID-19 vaccine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised that all patients be observed for 15 minutes post-vaccination by staff who can identify and manage such reactions.

The U.S. agencies do not recommend that people with food or medication allergies avoid vaccination.