CDC CONFIRMS six people have had side effects with COVID

U.S. health officials are closely monitoring possible side effects of the first authorized COVID-19 vaccine, said Saturday they saw at least six cases of severe allergic reactions from more than a quarter of a million photos taken – prompting an Illinois hospital to stop vaccinations .

Medical experts said that a chemical called polyethylene glycol (PEG), a compound most commonly used in laxatives, “could be the culprit” causing the reactions.

PEG is an ingredient in the Pfizer vaccine, as well as the Moderna Inc. vaccine approved Friday.

But the Food and Drug Administration said most Americans with allergies should be safe to receive the vaccine. It was said that only people who had previously had severe allergic reactions to vaccines or the ingredients in this particular vaccine should avoid administration.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 272,000 photos of the Pfizer vaccine were administered nationwide on Saturday morning.

Half a dozen cases of allergic reactions have been reported since Friday night and have included a person with a history of vaccination reactions.

An Illinois medical unit has temporarily stopped COVID-19 vaccinations after four health workers experienced side effects from the fires.

Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville stopped vaccinations on Friday and will resume them on Sunday.

Unidentified employees had reactions that included tingling and increased heart rate just moments after the vaccine, reports ABC 7.

“These four members of the team represent less than 0.15% of the approximately 3,000 who have so far received vaccinations from the Aurora Health lawyer,” a statement said.

While three of the employees are recovering at home, a fourth is receiving additional treatment.

The lawyer said he would use the time to help determine what could have caused the reactions.

Vaccinations continue in the other eight Advocate Aurora Health locations in Illinois and in the three locations in Wisconsin.

Three Alaska workers needed medical treatment after receiving the vaccine earlier this week, while a suburban hospital in Chicago stopped vaccinations after four employees reported side effects.

Health officials are wary of such side effects.

US vaccine recipients should stay after injections if signs of allergy occur.

The CDC said all cases occurred within the recommended observation window and were dealt with promptly.

The numbers were discussed at a meeting of a committee advising the CDC on vaccines.

The group approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, which was granted an emergency permit on Friday.

Less severe side effects were also rare.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biological Assessment and Research, said at a news conference that allergic reactions to PEG could be somewhat more common than previously thought.

Of the first 215,000 people to be vaccinated in the United States, less than 1.5% had problems that left them unable to perform normal activities or needed medical care.

Many vaccines can cause temporary discomfort, such as pain in the arm or certain flu-like symptoms.

COVID-19 vaccines tend to cause more of these reactions than a flu vaccine, and some hospitals are amazing how often their employees get vaccinated to avoid staffing problems.

A clinician based in Fairbanks, Alaska, suffered anaphylactic symptoms after being given the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, a hospital said on Friday, becoming the third health care worker in the state to suffer an adverse reaction to the new drug.

The clinician, whose name has not been released, began showing symptoms about 10 minutes after he was inoculated Thursday, according to Foundation Health Partners, an operator of Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.

The health worker was treated in the hospital’s emergency room with epinephrine and released about six hours later, Foundation Health Partners said in a written statement.

Two health workers in Juneau suffered side effects from the drug earlier this week.

One of them was briefly hospitalized in that city for anaphylaxis after being vaccinated on Tuesday.

The second had a milder reaction on Wednesday and was treated at the hospital’s emergency room and released.

“Allergic reactions, although less common, can occur with injections of drugs and vaccines,” said in a statement the chief physician of the Health Partners Foundation, Dr. Angelique Ramirez.

The Fairbanks clinician issued his own statement which was included in the Foundation Health Partners version.

“I would receive the vaccine and recommend it to anyone, despite my reaction, to help our country immunize, necessary for the health of all Americans, for the economy, to make families embrace again, to bring children back to school. and take the country to the other side of this pandemic, “the doctor said.

Alaska received its first deliveries of the Pfizer vaccine Sunday night, state officials said.

The lots were shipped across the state, including by seaplane and boat to more distant locations.

The cases in Alaska were similar to two cases reported last week in the UK.

The British health regulator said anyone with a history of anaphylaxis or severe allergic reactions to a medicine or food should not be given the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

On Friday, the FDA said the Moderna vaccine should not be given to people with a known history of severe allergic reactions to any component of the shot.

The regulatory authority shall also require that appropriate medical treatment be available for immediate allergic reactions when the stroke is administered in the event of an anaphylactic reaction.

Pfizer could not be reached immediately for comment.