A Boston doctor with a history of allergies had a severe allergic reaction to Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine.
Hossein Sadrzadeh he told CNN that after getting vaccinated at Boston Medical Center on Thursday, he felt his heart rate increase to 150 beats per minute.
Sadrzadeh also told the press that, in a matter of minutes, “I felt in my tongue and also in my throat with some strange sensation of tingling and numbness, the same reaction I had before to my seafood allergy.” She also said her blood pressure dropped so low that a monitor could not detect her.
Sadrzadeh used the EpiPen and was rushed to the emergency room where he was given medication, according to The New York Times. Four hours later, he was released from custody and told the newspaper that he felt fully recovered as of Friday.
The Hill has contacted Boston Medical Center, Modern and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for comment.
The incident is the first of its kind to be reported after the Moderna vaccine was approved by federal health agencies and distributed and occurs when the FDA investigated several reports of allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine. and BioNTech.
Peter Marks, who heads the FDA’s Center for Biological Product Evaluation and Research, he said last weekend a chemical called polyethylene glycol, present in both vaccines, “could be the culprit.”
At the time, the agency advised people who have had severe reactions to any component of the Moderna vaccine in the past not to receive this shot.
In light of allergic reactions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidance advice those who have severe responses after the first dose do not get a second vaccine. The agency also says people who are allergic to vaccines or injectable therapies should consult their doctors before getting vaccinated.
However, the CDC notes that those with a history of severe allergic reactions unrelated to vaccines or injectable drugs (such as food, pet, or environmental allergies) can still be vaccinated.
More than 1.94 million people have received the first dose of Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccine as of Saturday afternoon, according to a CDC count.