FDA officials are checking at least five apparent allergic reactions that occurred after people received the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the United States last week, Reuters reported.
Dr. Peter Marks, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biological Evaluation and Research, told reporters late Friday that allergic reactions have been reported in several states, including Alaska.
A chemical called polyethylene glycol (PEG) found in both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines could be the “culprit” causing the reactions, Marks said.
Marks said allergic reactions to PEG could occur more often than previously understood.
“Obviously, we will monitor very carefully what is happening. We work very closely with the CDC on these and there have been meetings between the CDC and the FDA every day of each week, making sure we keep a very close record of what’s going on, “Hill said.
Reports of allergic reactions in Alaska follow two similar cases reported last week in the United Kingdom, the first country to approve the Pfizer vaccine.
Health officials in the UK have stated that people with a history of anaphylaxis or severe allergic reactions to a medicine or food should not get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
But FDA officials say most Americans with allergies should be okay with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. They said that only people who had previously had severe allergic reactions to vaccines – or the ingredients in this particular vaccine – should get over the vaccine.
The FDA also said Friday that the Moderna vaccine should not be given to people with a known history of severe allergic reactions to any component of the vaccine.
The FDA now requires that appropriate medical treatments for immediate allergic reactions be available when the vaccine is given in case of an anaphylactic reaction.