Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui / Bloomberg
Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui / Bloomberg
Like all new drugs, Covid-19 vaccines licensed in Western countries present some safety concerns and side effects. Many people who have received the first two shots deployed, one of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE and another of Moderna Inc., has experienced fever, headache and pain at the injection site. These side effects usually go away quickly. Up to ten people have had a severe allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis, to the vaccines.
1. What is anaphylaxis?
The body fights foreign invaders through various mechanisms that include the manufacture of protective proteins called antibodies, the release of toxins that kill microbes, and the control of guard cells to fight infection. As with any conflict, sometimes the effort to repel an infection can be detrimental. In rare cases, it can cause swelling and swelling of the tissues in a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. As much as 5% of the US population has had this reaction to various substances. It can be fatal if, for example, the person’s airway is closed, even if there are deaths. rar. Allergies a insect bites and food can cause it, although it is the pharmacological reactions most common cause of anaphylaxis deaths in the US and UK
2. Where have the Covid vaccine cases caused it?
A December 19th the presentation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention referred to two cases of anaphylaxis associated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the United Kingdom and six in the United States. Later in the month, in Israel, which is deploying the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a man suffered anaphylactic shock an hour after receiving a shot. according to the Jerusalem Post. He said he had had previous reactions to penicillin, the newspaper reported. And a Boston doctor with a seafood allergy reported that he had one anaphylactic reaction to the Modern vaccine. None of the reactions caused the death.
3. Has anaphylaxis been connected to vaccines before?
Yes. A 2016 a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found 33 confirmed cases of anaphylaxis triggered by vaccines that occurred after 25,173,965 doses of inoculations, a rate of approximately 1.31 per million doses. So far, the rate of known cases related to the administration of approximately 3 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines seem more than double, but still very low.
4. How long does the risk last?
It is usually not long. Anaphylactic reactions usually occur within minutes to hours of exposure to a specific substance, said Michael Kinch, a drug development expert and associate vice president. University of Washington at St. Louis. Of the 29 cases in which the lag was documented in the 2016 study, symptoms of anaphylaxis began in 30 minutes in eight cases, in the next 90 minutes in another eight, within two to four hours in 10 cases, within four to eight hours in two cases, and the next in one.
5. What is done about risk?
The United Kingdom and the U.S. has advised people who have allergies to any component of a Covid vaccine not to receive it. Anaphylaxis can be quickly combated with antihistamines and adrenaline injectors such as Epi-Pen from Mylan NV, which slow down or slow down immune reactions, and health professionals who give the vaccine keep these items ready. These treatments do not negate the beneficial effects of vaccines. In the United States, health workers observe anyone who has received the vaccine for at least 15 minutes after the injection to watch for signs of a reaction. People who have had reactions to a first dose of vaccine should not receive a second, according to the CDC.
6. Do we know what causes reactions to prey?
This is not clear. The two main candidates are polyethylene glycol – a chemical found in many foods, cosmetics and medicines – and lipid nanoparticles that encapsulate messenger RNA, a genetic component of vaccines, according to Eric Topol, a clinical trial expert and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. Polyethylene glycol has been previously linked to a handful of cases of anaphylaxis. Once the cause is reduced, Covid vaccines may be even safer than current ones, Topol said. If other serious non-allergic side effects appear, he said, “they are also likely to be quite rare and the net benefit of vaccination is very positive.”