Scientists believe the polyethylene glycol compound – known as PEG – is to blame for allergic reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, the Wall Street Journal reports.
News management: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified six allergic reactions to the vaccine out of the 272,001 doses given by December 19.
- No allergic reactions have been reported for the Moderna vaccine, which also contains PEG. The Food and Drug Administration said the vaccine would be launched “very closely,” according to the WSJ.
- The UK reported two severe reactions to the vaccine on December 8th.
What I say: “What we’re learning now is that those allergic reactions may be somewhat more common than extremely unusual that we thought they were because people are exposed to polyethylene glycol in various pharmaceuticals,” said Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Center. evaluation and biological research of the administration, per WSJ.
Not worth anything: “PEG has not been used in an approved vaccine so far, but it is found in many drugs that have occasionally triggered anaphylaxis,” the magazine said. Science write.
- However, scientists say that PEG-induced allergic reactions are less common and also suspect that people may have reacted to another compound in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Bottom line: Scientists continue to argue that vaccination should continue despite suspected reactions to PEG, although more data are needed.
- “We need to get vaccinated,” said Elizabeth Phillips, a researcher in drug hypersensitivity at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Science. “We must try to reduce this pandemic.”