THD NewsDesk, London
Britain’s medicine regulator on Wednesday said that keeping their immediate well-being in mind, anyone with a history of food/medicine allergy should not be administered the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The regulator further issued fuller guidelines regarding the earlier issued warnings.
As a part of the global drive, Britain began mass vaccination on Tuesday, beginning with the elderly and frontline workers.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) stated that there had been two incidents of anaphylaxis and one of a possible allergic reaction since the beginning of the rollout.
June Raine, MHRA Chief Executive stated, “Any person with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.” The Agency further said, “Most people will not get anaphylaxis and the benefits in protecting people against COVID-19 outweigh the risks. You can be completely confident that this vaccine has met the MHRA’s robust standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.”
Anaphylaxis is a medical condition caused by overreaction of the body’s immune system, described as severe and sometimes life-threatening by the National Health Service.
The makers Pfizer and BioNTech issued statements supporting the MHRA’s investigation.
Last week, MHRA became the first nation in the world to approve the German-made BioNTech and Pfizer Vaccine. This came while the USFDA and EMA (European Medicines Agency) were still assessing the data.
While US officials said that American residents with previous allergies may not be administered the vaccine until further tests, the Canadian Heath ministry stated that although unfortunate, such complications were to be expected, and such times demanded risks.
In her official report, Raine told lawmakers that Pfizer had not witnessed such allergic reactions in the clinical trials.
After the announcement, Pfizer stated that volunteers with a history of severe allergic reactions to vaccines or its ingredients were not included in their final stage trials, a statement that is reflected in MHRA’s emergency approval protocol.
However, the allergic reactions might have been triggered by polyethylene glycol or PEG, a component of Pfizer’s vaccine that is not found in other kinds of vaccines and helps stabilise the shot.
