Can People With Food Allergies Take Pfizer, Moderna's Covid-19 Vaccine? Here's What Experts Advise

While certain receivers reported an allergic reaction to Coronavirus vaccines, the concerns over those with existing food allergies may also crop up. Here's what a team of experts and allergists in the US advised.

New York: While certain receivers reported allergic reactions to Coronavirus vaccines, the concerns over those with existing food allergies may also crop up. Experts in the US have given an answer for the same. 

A team of experts led by allergists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reported that individuals with food or medication allergies can be vaccinated safely with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's Covid-19 vaccines.

The study has been published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. Even the US agencies do not recommend that people with food or medication allergies avoid vaccination.

Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's Covid-19 vaccines were recently granted emergency use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Who Should Not Take The Covid-19 Vaccine

Some reports of receivers reporting allergies have surfaced leading to these concerns. For this, the US FDA recommended that those with a history of severe allergic reactions to any component of the Covid-19 vaccine should not take the shot. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended for all patients to be observed for 15 minutes after inoculation by staff who can spot and manage any reactions.

Now the team of experts led by allergists at Massachusetts General Hospital has also stated the findings over allergic reactions to vaccines like the ones for Covid-19 and they provided detailed advice for individuals with different histories of allergy to safely receive their first Covid-19 vaccine.

"As allergists, we want to encourage vaccination by reassuring the public that both FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines are safe," said study co-author Aleena Banerji, Clinical Director of the Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit at MGH and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.



"Our guidelines are built upon the recommendations of U.S. regulatory agencies and provide clear steps to the medical community on how to safely administer both doses of the vaccine in individuals with allergic histories," it adds.

Certain steps have been given for individuals who develop a reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine as to how they can safely receive the second dose which is important to gain maximum protection from the infection.

The experts noted that allergic reactions to vaccines are rare - the rate being about 1.3 per 1 million people. The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccine allergic reactions are stated to have a similarly low rate of occurrence.

Banerji and her co-authors advised that people with a history of anaphylaxis to an injectable drug or vaccine containing polyethylene glycol or polysorbate first consult their allergists before receiving the vaccine shot.

(With Agency Inputs)

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