CDC CONFIRMS that six people have had adverse reactions to the COVID vaccine

U.S. health officials have been closely monitoring the possible side effects of the first authorized COVID-19 vaccine, saying Saturday saw at least six cases of severe allergic reactions from more than a quarter of a million shots caused an Illinois hospital to pause the vaccines.

Medical experts said a chemical called polyethylene glycol (PEG), a compound more commonly used in laxatives, “could be the culprit” in causing the reactions.

PEG is an ingredient in the Pfizer vaccine as well as the Modern Vaccine Inc. released Friday.

But the Food and Drug Administration has said most Americans with allergies should be safe to get the vaccine. It was said that only people who have previously had severe allergic reactions to the vaccines or ingredients of that particular vaccine should avoid the vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 272,000 shots of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered nationwide since Saturday morning.

Half a dozen cases of allergic reaction were reported as of Friday night and included a person with a history of vaccination reactions.

A medical center in Illinois has temporarily stopped vaccines against COVID-19 after four health workers experienced adverse reactions to the shots.

Libertyville’s Advocate Condell Medical Center stopped vaccinations on Friday and will resume them on Sunday.

Unidentified employees experienced reactions that included tingling and increased heart rate just minutes after taking the vaccine, ABC 7 reports.

“These four team members represent less than 0.15% of the approximately 3,000 who have so far received vaccines against Advocate Aurora Health,” a statement said.

While three of the staff recover at home, a fourth receives additional treatment.

The lawyer shared that he would use the time to help determine what may have caused the reactions.

Vaccines continue to be available at the other eight Advocate Aurora Health locations in Illinois and at all three locations in Wisconsin.

Three Alaskan health workers needed medical treatment after the vaccine was given earlier this week, while a Chicago suburban hospital stopped inoculations after four employees reported adverse reactions.

Health officials are closely monitoring these side effects.

U.S. vaccine recipients are supposed to pass after injections in case any signs of allergy appear.

The CDC said all cases occurred in the recommended observation window and were dealt with promptly.

The figures were discussed at a committee meeting advising the CDC on vaccines.

On Saturday, the group supported Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, which received emergency clearance on Friday.

Less serious side effects have also been rare.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biological Evaluation and Research, said at a news conference that allergic reactions to PEG could be a little more frequent than previously understood.

Among the first 215,000 people to be vaccinated in the United States, less than 1.5% of them had problems that left them unable to perform their normal activities or needed medical attention.

Many vaccines can cause temporary discomfort, such as arm pain or certain flu-like symptoms.

COVID-19 vaccines usually cause more of these reactions than a flu vaccine, and some hospitals are staggering the number of times their employees are vaccinated to avoid staffing problems.

A clinician based in Fairbanks, Alaska, suffered from anaphylactic symptoms after receiving the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, a hospital said Friday, becoming the third state health worker to suffer an adverse reaction to the new drug.

The clinician, whose name was not disclosed, began showing symptoms about ten minutes after he was inoculated Thursday, according to the Health Partners Foundation, operator of Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

The health worker was treated with epinephrine in the hospital emergency room and released about six hours later, Foundation Health Partners said in a written statement.

Two Juneau health workers suffered adverse reactions to the medication earlier this week.

One was briefly hospitalized in that city for anaphylaxis after being vaccinated on Tuesday.

The second had a milder reaction Wednesday and was rushed to the hospital emergency room and released.

“Allergic reactions, although uncommon, can occur with injections of medications and vaccines,” said Dr. Angelique Ramirez, medical director of the Health Partners Foundation, Dr. Angelique Ramirez.

The Fairbanks clinic issued its own statement which was included in the Foundation Health Partners version.

“I would get the vaccine and recommend it to anyone, despite my reaction, to help our country get vaccinated which is necessary for the health of all Americans, for the economy, for families to return to to embrace, to get children back to schools and to get the country on the other side of this pandemic, ”the health worker said.

Alaska received the first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine on Sunday evening, state officials said.

Lots have been shipped across the state, including by seaplane and boat to more remote locations.

The cases in Alaska were similar to two cases reported last week in Britain.

The British medical regulator has said that anyone with a history of anaphylaxis or severe allergic reactions to a medicine or food should not be given the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

On Friday, the FDA said the Modern vaccine should not be given to people with a known history of severe allergic reactions to any component of the vaccine.

The regulator also requires that appropriate medical treatments be available for immediate allergic reactions when the shot is administered in the event of an anaphylactic reaction.

Pfizer could not be reached immediately for comment.