Vaccine Reaction Problems on First Day in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom started with problems on the first day of vaccinating people for COVID-19. Two people are reported as having serious side effects.

Vaccine Headline

https://www.newsmax.com/world/globaltalk/britain-allergic-reaction-coronavirus-vaccine/2020/12/09/id/1000688/ Two people had adverse allergic reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine in England. Tuesday was the first day of vaccine distribution. The Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency issued a warning that people with a significant history of allergic reactions should not receive the vaccine.

Vaccine Caution

https://www.wsj.com/articles/people-with-severe-allergies-shouldnt-get-covid-19-vaccine-says-u-k-regulator-after-reactions-11607515727 The two people with serious allergic reactions are National Health Service (NHS) workers in a group designated to receive the vaccine first.

The vaccine quickly triggered an anaphylactoid reaction, a potentially life-threatening event. It is a dangerous immune response by something that the body thinks is a foreign invader. Both people had adrenaline auto-injectors to address their allergies. Each person fully recovered.

The NHS had identified health-care workers, the elderly, and nursing home staff and residents as the first prioritized group to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The allergic reactions had not been observed during the clinical trials. The allergic reactions happened on the first dose which was unusual.

Vaccine Status

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55244122 Vaccinations are continuing with a heightened awareness of unplanned reactions. It is not uncommon for unexpected reactions to occur with the introduction of a new vaccine. Clinical trials are designed to test the vaccine against a wide demographic. Not every condition is evaluated.

Several thousand people were vaccinated on Tuesday. The United Kingdom is proud that its monitoring system caught these two people early enough to prevent any serious health problems. Side effects happen with all medicines. All of us are different. One day we may have a slight reaction and a month later the reaction could be more serious. The best guess now is that one potential allergic reaction could happen per one thousand people. Those with severe allergies are now on alert as inoculations continue.

Conclusion

Clinical testing typically does not include a lot of people over 65 years of age with pre-existing conditions. It makes sense. A trial vaccine (or other medicine) could seriously injure people with challenging health problems. The immune responses seen in the clinical trials were roughly the same regardless of age.

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