Scientists believe the polyethylene glycol compound (known as PEG) is to blame for the allergic reactions reported to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Driving the news: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified six allergic reactions to the vaccine of the 272,001 doses administered through December 19.
- No allergic reactions have been reported for the Modern vaccine, which also contains PEG. The Food and Drug Administration said it will follow the launch of the vaccine “very closely,” according to WSJ.
- The UK reported two serious reactions to the vaccine on 8 December.
What they say: “What we’re learning now is that these allergic reactions could be a little more common than the highly uncommon ones we thought they were because people are exposed to polyethylene glycol in various pharmaceutical preparations,” said Peter Marks, director of Food and Drugs Administration Center for Biological Assessment and Research, by WSJ.
It is necessary to emphasize: “PEG has never been used before in an approved vaccine, but it is found in many medications that have occasionally caused anaphylaxis,” the magazine explains. Science he writes.
- However, scientists say PEG-induced allergic reactions are uncommon and also suspect that people may have reacted to a different compound from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The summary: Scientists still argue that vaccination should continue despite suspicions of reactions to PEG, although more data are needed.
- “We need to get vaccinated,” said Elizabeth Phillips, a drug hypersensitivity researcher at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Science. “We must try to reduce this pandemic.”