LONDON: British health officials on Wednesday warned that anyone with a history of significant allergic reactions should not have the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid jab for the time being.

The warning came after two members of the state-run National Health Service who were among the first to receive the vaccine on Tuesday suffered allergic reactions and needed treatment.

NHS England medical director Stephen Powis said both people, who had a history of reactions, were now recovering well.

The independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has now advised that “people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination” as a precaution, he added.

“Significant” allergic reactions include those to medicines, food or vaccines, according to the MHRA.

Thousands of Britons became the first in the Western world to receive an approved Covid vaccine on Tuesday as the NHS began the biggest vaccination drive since it was created in 1948.

The vaccine is administered in two doses, 21 days apart. The over-80s and health and social care staff are first in line to get the jab in the national rollout.

Britain has received some 800,000 doses of the vaccine in the first batch of an order of 40 million. Up to four million doses are expected by the end of December.

Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla on Tuesday said he understood global concerns about the speed with which pharmaceutical companies have produced vaccines against Covid-19. But he insisted no corners have been cut.

The vaccine had been tested “in the exact same way as we are testing any vaccine that is circulating out there”, he told a virtual media briefing in Geneva.

Pfizer said the MHRA had told it of the allergic reactions but said during phase 3 trials of more than 40,000 people, the vaccine was “generally well-tolerated with no serious safety concerns” reported.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.
Concerning measures
Updated 03 Nov, 2024

Concerning measures

The govt must seek political input and consensus on the changes it is seeking to make and be open about its intentions.
Short-lived relief?
03 Nov, 2024

Short-lived relief?

POLICYMAKERS must be jumping with joy. At the close of the first quarter of FY25, the budget posted a consolidated...
Brisk spread
03 Nov, 2024

Brisk spread

THE surge in polio cases has reached distressing levels with a tally of 45 last reported, after two cases emerged in...