COVID-19 vaccine triggers severe allergic reaction in second Alaskan health care worker

A second health care worker in the United States' Alaska region has reported allergies after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The second worker had received the COVID-19 vaccine shot on December 16 and reported allergic reactions about 10 minutes after being injected. The first worker had received the shot on Tuesday and had reported similar but adverse reactions moments after being inoculated. the worker had to be admitted overnight. 

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Both reactions occurred at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, Alaska.  According to the doctor, the second worker to develop the allergies reported less severe symptoms and was released from the hospital within hours. Two cases of allergic reactions have been reported this week in the United States, where mass vaccination drive for frontline workers began two days ago. Health officials have said that they are expecting occasional cases of allergic reaction and are prepared to provide treatment for the same. 

Read: US Healthcare Worker Reports Severe Allergic Reaction After Taking Pfizer Vaccine Shot

Similar reactions in the UK

Earlier, two recipients in the United Kingdom had reported allergic reactions after being injected with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Regulators in the UK then issued updated guidelines warning people with a history of significant allergic reactions to not take the vaccine. Pfizer and BioNTech have said that people with a history of allergic reactions were not included in their trial studies, hence, there is limited data available on adverse reactions in such groups. 

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Earlier this week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine following which Americans across the country began receiving jabs. The FDA recently said that Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate is safe and 94 percent effective and could receive EUA soon, paving the way for the US government to extend the vaccination campaign even further, giving it the capability to vaccinate millions more.

Read: Pfizer's Vaccine Triggers Allergies In 2 UK Recipients, Regulators Issue New Guidelines