Study Finds That It Is Safe To Receive The Second Dose Even With Allergic Reactions To First Dose
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : July 28, 2021If you are a rare case of someone who has had an allergic reaction to the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna Covid vaccines, it has been concluded that it is completely safe for you to receive your necessary second dose.
According to a group of allergists working at several American hospitals who have taken a look at second-dose vaccine reactions among people who had symptoms of an allergic reaction after their first dose.
The patients looked for care at centers like the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, the University of Texas in Dallas and the Yale school of medicine.
They had all been through some sort of allergic reaction after the first dose of the mRNA-based vaccine. A large number of reactions were mild, but in a few cases, the reaction was anaphylaxis which is a whole-body allergic reaction that is life-threatening.
Study Finds That It Is Safe To Receive The Second Dose Even With Allergic Reactions To First Dose
Dr. Matthew Krantz of Vanderbilt University said that the reactions to the first doses can include symptoms like itching, hives or flushing. He added that the patients were all shown to allergy specialists after their reactions.
32 out of the 189 patients involved experienced anaphylaxis after their first dose.
The doctors went on to find that 159 patients went on to receive their second dose. This figure also included 19 patients that went through anaphylaxis.
The important finding of the study was that everyone tolerated the second dose.
Only 20% of the 159 patients involved in the study reported immediate allergic symptoms linked with the 2nd dose. Even though they had symptoms, they were mild and self-limited.
The symptoms were easily done away with by using antihistamines in all those cases.
The co-senior author of the study, Dr. Kimberly Blumenthal said that the 2nd dose reactions being mild points towards the fact that the 1st dose reactions were not typical allergy symptoms.
He added that for a typical allergy, being exposed to the allergen again causes similar or even worse symptoms. Blumenthal is also the co-director of a Clinical Epidemiology Program in MGH’s Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology.
Dr. Aleena Banerji, the co-senior author of the study said that the new findings give confidence that it’s safe for a majority of people to receive the 2nd dose of the mRNA vaccine.
Dr. Banerji is also the clinical director of the unit which handles Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Boston Hospital.
She added that after 1st dose reactions, allergy specialists might be useful to help in guiding risk/benefit assessments and provide assistance to complete vaccinations safely.
Dr. Blanka Kaplan who is a part of the department of adult and pediatric allergy at Northwell Health in New York after reading the study stressed that she thinks that everyone, even people with allergic reactions absolutely must get both shots of the vaccines as it is necessary for 2 doses to help combat Covid.
She mentioned that it was impossible to overstate the importance of full vaccination to especially in the face of the new emerging variants and that these vaccines have a high level of effectiveness against the original Covid variant.
People who have received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines are shielded to a much greater extent against diseases caused by Covid. They are also much less likely to be hospitalized when compared to people who have not received even a single dose of the vaccine.
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Dr. Kaplan added that it is really encouraging to find that being administered with the second dose is safe even if you have allergic reactions.
She also said that an allergist could be consulted if anyone had reactions to the first dose.
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.