(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Wednesday it is closely monitoring allergic reactions to Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc.’s coronavirus vaccines and urged individuals who had a severe reaction to not receiving the second dose.
In a conference call with reporters, the U.S. public health agency said allergic reactions occur at a rate of 11.1 per million vaccinations. This is compared to flu vaccines, in which these reactions occur at a rate of 1.3 per million shots.
Serious reactions are still “extremely rare,” they said, stressing the need for people to be vaccinated when shots are available, given the threat of death and severe coronavirus disease that has already caused more than 357,000 lives in the to the United States.
The CDC said it is closely monitoring allergic reaction incidents and plans to post weekly updates on its website.
The agency also urges that vaccine delivery sites be prepared not only to recognize serious allergic reactions, known as anaphylaxis, but to train on how to treat them and recognize when people should be referred for treatment. hospitals for additional care.
CDC officials said 28 people who received the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech had severe allergic reactions. They also pointed to a case of anaphylaxis, which can cause swelling of the throat and difficulty breathing, after a person received the Moderna vaccine.
Officials attributed the difference largely to the fact that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was authorized before the Modern shot and said the precautions apply to both.
A study published Wednesday in the CDC’s weekly report on deaths and illness on cases between December 14 and 23 identified 21 cases of anaphylaxis after administration of 1,893,360 doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine . Of these, 71% occurred within the first 15 minutes after vaccination administration.
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 vaccine.
Report by Michael Erman in New York, Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago, Manas Mishra and Dania Nadeem in Bengaluru; Edited by Bill Berkrot