Operation Warp Speed’s chief scientific adviser said the frequency of allergic reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine is higher than expected for other jabs, according to a report.
Dr. Moncef Slaoui said that the last time he was updated on allergic reactions was on Tuesday, when there were six cases, and added that the data on COVID-19 immunizations are lagging behind the actual figures, reported CNN.
“This frequency, as it was yesterday, is higher than you would expect with other vaccines,” he said.
Slaoui said discussions are ongoing between vaccine manufacturers and the National Institutes of Health to consider carrying out clinical vaccine trials in very allergic populations, such as people who always carry an EpiPen antiallergic drug.
On Monday, an official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said the United States is investigating why some people experienced severe allergic reactions shortly after receiving the injection from Pfizer.
Alkis Togias, head of NIAID’s Department of Allergy, Asthma and Airway Biology, told CNBC that “several hundred people” with a history of severe allergic reactions will be involved in a study.