Study Shows Safe to Give Pfizer Vaccine to People with Allergies

Israeli medical researchers have completed a study that shows people with serious allergies can safely be given the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine with supervision, the times of Israel reported on Tuesday.

In the study, conducted at Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest hospital, 429 people with serious allergies were vaccinated and kept under observation. Only nine of the 429 experienced allergic reactions, and all of them recovered and were in good health through the two-week follow-up period.

Initially, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that such people not be vaccinated, though this cautionary has since been revised, and few people are currently excluded due to allergy. The Sheba study provides further data confirming the safety of the policy.

Of the nine who did have allergic reactions, six were mild, like swelling of the tongue or a cough that was relieved by antihistamine.

Three patients had anaphylactic reactions that included shortness of breath. Two of those three had a prior diagnosis of multiple drug allergies. All three were successfully treated with adrenaline, antihistamines, and an inhaler.

The study stated: “All nine patients who experienced an immediate reaction to the first dose were followed up by our team within two weeks; none reported recurrent or ongoing allergic symptoms.”