FDA officials are checking at least five apparent allergic reactions that occurred after people received the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the U.S. last week, Reuters reported.
Dr. Peter Marks, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Biological Products Assessment and Research Center, told reporters Friday that allergic reactions had been reported in more than one state, including Alaska.
A chemical called polyethylene glycol (PEG) found in both Pfizer vaccines and Modern vaccines could be “responsible” for the reactions, Marks said.
Marks said allergic reactions to PEG could occur more often than previously understood.
“Obviously, we will be watching very closely what is happening. We are working very closely with the CDC on that, and there have been meetings between the CDC and the FDA almost every day this week, making sure we keep a very close track of what’s going on, ”Hill said.
Reports of allergic reactions in Alaska follow two similar cases reported last week in Britain, the first country to approve the Pfizer vaccine.
Health officials in the UK have said that people with a history of anaphylaxis or severe allergic reactions to a medicine or food should not take the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
But FDA officials say most Americans with allergies should be okay to get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. They said only people who had previously experienced severe allergic reactions to vaccines (or the ingredients of that particular vaccine) should skip the shot.
The FDA also said Friday that the Modern vaccine should not be given to people with a known history of severe allergic reactions to any component of the vaccine.
The FDA now requires appropriate medical treatments for immediate allergic reactions when the shot is administered in the event of an anaphylactic reaction.