Life-threatening allergic reactions after vaccination with COVID-19, called anaphylaxis, do occur, but they are “extremely rare”, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a call on Wednesday.
The CDC has documented 21 confirmed cases of severe allergic reactions after the COVID-19 vaccinations, resulting in an average rate of 11.1 serious reactions per 1 million doses administered, according to Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center CDC Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
Of 20 patients with available data, all recovered, noted the CDC.
The figures were published in a new CDC report released on Wednesday and are based on 1.9 million starting doses administered in the United States. Although the agency has already documented 29 total cases, it plans to detail these cases in an upcoming report.
Most people who developed symptoms did so 15 minutes after vaccination and 17 patients had a documented history of allergies or allergic reactions, including to medical products, food and insect bites.
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For comparison, the rate of anaphylaxis for the flu vaccine is 1.3 cases per 1 million doses administered. Although Messonnier noted that the rate of severe allergic reactions is 10 times higher for COVID-19 vaccinations, she assured that the cases are still “extremely rare”.
More importantly, the CDC says that anyone who has an immediate allergic reaction to the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine should not receive the second dose. In addition, those with a known allergy to components of the vaccine, or components closely related to the vaccine, are not advised to receive the vaccine at this time.
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In addition, the CDC advises that anyone with a history of immediate allergic reaction to a vaccine, or a history of anaphylaxis from any cause, should be observed for 30 minutes after vaccination. Most individuals are observed for 15 minutes after vaccination.
Since the injection from Pfizer and BioNTech obtained emergency clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before the one created by Moderna, most of the CDC’s documented cases of severe allergic reactions emerged among recipients of the Pfizer vaccine, said Messonnier.
That said, the federal health agency’s recommendations apply to vaccines from both drug sponsors.
“At this point, we really don’t have enough data to say that there is any difference in risk [between Pfizer and Moderna vaccines], which is why our recommendations apply to both vaccines, “she said.
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CDC officials have repeatedly emphasized that the known and potential benefits of the COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risk of serious consequences from the COVID-19 disease.
“This does not mean, however, that we cannot see potential serious health events in the future,” said Messonnier.
“There are huge efforts now underway to try to understand what may be the cause of this serious allergic reaction with both vaccines. I don’t think we have anything definitive to say, there are many hypotheses about it, but at this point, our recommendations for this apply to both vaccines, “he added.
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Information on cases of anaphylaxis did not have “significant effects” in the distribution plans and, as the CDC said earlier, all vaccination sites must be properly equipped and trained, if anyone experiences anaphylaxis after vaccination.
Echoing remarks from other top federal officials, Messonnier expressed high hopes for an accelerated rate of vaccination in the coming weeks amid resounding criticism of a slow vaccination effort across the country.