The National Health Service of England warned on Wednesday that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech should not be given to people with a history of a significant allergic reaction to a vaccine, medicine or food" The alert came after two health care workers who received the vaccine on Tuesday, among the first batch of individuals in the western world to receive an authorized coronavirus disease vaccine, reported adverse reactions.
In a statement, NHS England said that both medical staffs who suffered anaphylactoid reactions to the Pfizer vaccine had a "strong past history of allergic reactions," and that after treatment, both had recovered.
The MHRA (U.K. drug regulator) has advised, as is usual with new vaccines, on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions reacted adversely yesterday, "As is common with new vaccines the MHRA (U.K. drug regulator) have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday,"
On Tuesday, the United Kingdom became the first country in the Western world to initiate a mass-vaccination campaign against COVID-19, delivering the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine to thousands of people across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in a network of around 70 hospitals.
On Tuesday, or 'V-Day,' as the government called it, there were no other records of serious adverse reactions to the drug. Based on preliminary results from Phase 3 clinical trials, the Pfizer vaccine was approved for emergency use by Britain's independent pharmaceutical agency, the MHRA, which showed it to be safe and highly effective.
Pfizer is currently waiting for Emergency Use Authorization for their U.S. vaccines, along with U.S. drugmaker Moderna and Oxford University in Britain, collaborating with pharma giant AstraZeneca. Administration of Food and Medications.
The only vaccine authorized by the UK is the first 800,000 doses of the Pfizer formula. For COVID-19 so far, individuals over 80 who are already hospitalized or scheduled for outpatient procedures and nursing home employees are going to be present. Some of the first shots, which are made available at individual inoculation sites once the highest-risk patients get theirs, are also obtained by NHS staff, particularly those administering the vaccine.
In the U.K. Another large batch of Pfizer vaccine doses is scheduled to be shipped next week, enabling the NHS to scale up its inoculation campaign in an effort to target around 25 million of the most susceptible individuals in the first wave.
It has been made clear by British authorities that the vaccine would not be mandatory for everyone. They will be informed by their doctor's office or the National Health Service and advised to make appointments as people become eligible for the coming waves of inoculation.
In addition to the warning against giving the Pfizer shot to people with a history of significant allergic reactions, the British regulatory agency also said the drug should only be administered "in facilities where resuscitation measures are available."
