New York City reported its first “significant allergic reaction” in a health worker who received the Pfizer vaccine Wednesday, the only adverse response it has received from more than 30,000 shots administered to date.
The worker has been treated and is in stable condition, city officials said. Allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine have been reported in clinical trials and since the FDA granted emergency use approval earlier this month, but they remain rare.
Health officials say they are following closely reports of more serious side effects in collaboration with the CDC. In the meantime, it will continue to move forward with the distribution of vaccines to ensure that front-line workers and residents and nursing home staff are protected from the virus, health officials said in a statement.
No specific details were immediately obtained about the allergic response of the affected worker. The city did not disclose any additional information about the case at Mayor Bill de Blasio’s COVID briefing, which cited confidentiality rules.
“Vaccines, including the COVID vaccine, are generally safe,” Dr. Dave Chokshi, city health commissioner, during the briefing. “For the vast majority of people who have allergies, the COVID vaccine will be safe and effective for you.”
People who have a history of allergic reactions to any type of vaccine or any type of injection should hold talks with their doctors before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, Chokshi added.
Rare allergic reactions were reported in Britain before Pfizer / BioNTech was launched in the United States, which has since reported similar and infrequent reactions. Three of them involved health workers in Alaska.
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Earlier this week, an official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNBC that the United States is studying why some people have suffered severe allergic reactions after the shots were fired.
The study, which is still in its early stages of planning, is expected to include “several hundred” people with a history of severe allergic reactions, Alkis Togias, head of the Al branch, told CNBC · NIAID allergy, asthma and airway biology. Although rare reactions have been reported by people who received the shot from Pfizer, the study may examine vaccines made by both Pfizer and Moderna.
The hope is to get it in a matter of weeks, officials told CNBC.