People with certain underlying conditions may receive a COVID-19 vaccine, as long as they have not had a severe allergic reaction to any of the ingredients in the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recently released guide.
“Adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for serious illnesses caused by the virus that causes COVID-19,” the agency noted in recommendations published on Saturday.
On Wednesday, 338,656 people died of COVID-19 in the US, and 19.5 million people were infected, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, 1,792,786 died of the virus and more than 82 million people tested positive; this, in most cases, is not responsible for those who are asymptomatic.
People with weakened immune systems, including some people living with HIV, may be at high risk for a serious case of COVID-19 and may receive a vaccine, said the CDC.
But they should note limitations on vaccine safety data, added the agency, which are not yet available to these groups. Although clinical trials include people with HIV, safety information specific to that population is also unavailable.
People living with autoimmune diseases may receive a coronavirus mRNA vaccine, according to the CDC, but they should also note that safety data is not available.
Those who have already had Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare but potentially serious autoimmune disease, can also get the vaccine. “With few exceptions, the independent best practice guidelines of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for immunization do not include a history of GBS as a precaution for vaccination with other vaccines,” says the agency.
People who have had Bell’s palsy, a weakness or facial paralysis usually temporary, can also get the vaccine. Although testing of the COVID-19 vaccine included some reports of Bell’s palsy, the Food and Drug Administration “does not consider these cases to be above the rate expected in the general population” and has not concluded that vaccination caused these cases, says the CDC .
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People who are vaccinated against COVID-19 still need to follow current mitigation measures, such as masking, social detachment and good hand hygiene until experts understand better how vaccines protect people in real life, says the CDC.
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The new guidance came weeks after the FDA granted emergency use authorization, a release less stringent than the full FDA approval being used to accelerate the use of COVID-19 treatments and vaccines for Pfizer PFE candidate vaccines,
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and Modern MRNA,
Both vaccines require two doses and employ mRNA technology, which teaches cells in the body to create proteins that generate an immune response.
The technical data sheets for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines include a complete list of their ingredients.
As of Monday morning, 2.1 million people in the United States received their first doses of vaccine and 11.4 million doses were distributed, according to a CDC count.
Public health authorities have recommended that health professionals and residents of long-term care facilities be first in line for vaccination. Next, essential frontline workers and adults aged 75 and over, followed by adults aged 65 to 74, people aged 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions and essential workers not previously included, according to CDC recommendations.
The average person in the United States who does not fall into any high priority category is likely to be vaccinated in the spring or summer, experts say.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has shown 95% effectiveness in clinical trials, while the Modern vaccine has been around 94% effective. But people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 still need to practice current mitigation measures, such as masking, social detachment and good hand hygiene until experts understand better how vaccines protect people in real life, says the CDC.
While news about vaccines sheds some light on what has been a bleak year for millions of people, the United States recorded an average of 183,140 daily cases of COVID-19 last week, according to a New York Times tracker; at least 1,899 people died of the disease on Monday. The number of current admissions reached a record high of 121,235 on Monday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.