At least 29 people in the United States have developed severe allergic reactions to Covid-19 vaccines, federal health officials said Wednesday.
The rate is much higher than for the seasonal flu vaccine, officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. But severe reactions were rare and did not result in death and encouraged the use of photographs.
The 29 cases are as of Jan. 5 and are from more than 5.3 million doses that have been administered to date, the CDC said.
The rate of 5.5 cases of anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction, per million doses of Covid-19 vaccine administered to date, compares with the rate of 1.3 cases per million doses of influenza vaccine. , according to the CDC.
However, cases of anaphylaxis are “extremely rare,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which leads the Covid-19 vaccination agency’s efforts.