UK Issues Guidance to Vaccination Centres on Managing Allergic Reactions following COVID-19 Vaccination with Pfizer BioNTech Vaccine

London: The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued guidance to vaccination centres on managing allergic reactions following COVID-19 vaccination with the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.

“Any person with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. A second dose should not be given to anyone who has experienced anaphylaxis following administration of the first dose of this vaccine”, the MHRA said.

Anaphylaxis is a known, although very rare, side effect with any vaccine. Most people will not get anaphylaxis and the benefits in protecting people against COVID-19 outweigh the risks.

Anyone due to receive their vaccine should continue with their appointment and discuss any questions or medical history of serious allergies with the healthcare professional prior to getting the jab.

“You can be completely confident that this vaccine has met the MHRA’s robust standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. The safety data has also been critically assessed by the government’s independent advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines. No vaccine would be approved unless it meets these stringent standards – on that you can be sure”, it added.

Members of the public and healthcare professionals are encouraged to report suspected side effects through the Yellow Card scheme, the agency further said.

Pfizer and BioNTech said they were supporting the MHRA’s investigation.

Last week, Britain’s MHRA became the first in the world to approve the vaccine, developed by Germany’s BioNTech and Pfizer, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) continue to assess the data.