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The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has halted the distribution of a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine lot – lot 41L20A – after several people had severe allergic reactions at a single clinic in less than 24 hours. But speaking to Yahoo Life, Dr. Purvi Parikh, a fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, said the investigation state officials launched was “normal. and necessary ”.
“If these are all real allergic reactions it may be a higher frequency than usual, but we have to make sure that these were real allergic reactions because many other events mimic allergic reactions,” he said. Parikh told Yahoo Life. “We need to investigate what really caused them.” In a statement released over the weekend, California State epidemiologist Dr. Erica S. Pan said the decision to stop distributing vaccines from this batch was made by “a big caution”.
“Our goal is to deliver the COVID vaccine safely, quickly and fairly,” noted Pan. “A higher than usual number of possible allergic reactions have been reported with a specific lot of Moderna vaccine administered at a community vaccination clinic. Fewer than 10 people required medical attention in a 24 hour period. Pan said the reactions were consistent with previous reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and were identified during the “standard observation period” (15 or 30 minutes, depending on whether the individual has a history of reactions. allergic).
The CDPH publication noted that all subjects “appeared to be experiencing a possible serious allergic reaction,” defined as a type of adverse event that the CDC reports some people have experienced while being vaccinated against COVID-19, and that ” the vaccination site is another batch of Moderna vaccine after closing for a few hours. “
Allergic reactions have been reported in response to Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, but are rare. This month, the CDC released a report on the first 1.9 million people to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and found that about 1 in 100,000 people had a severe allergic reaction to the Pfizer vaccine. The organization found anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal reaction, to be just as rare, concluding that the odds of it occurring are 11 in 1 million.
At the moment, it is still unclear what may be causing the reactions and how this specific batch of Moderna vaccine may have contributed to them. But some experts have speculated that the answers could be linked to a compound found in Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines, known as polyethylene glycol or PEG. Parikh said that while the PEG may be the source, experts “are not sure” at this point.
“This seems to be the most likely cause … because the other ingredients, such as sugars, fats and salts, are not very allergenic,” Parikh explained. “Overall, polyethylene glycol allergy is quite rare, as it is a commonly used ingredient in many drugs such as Miralax or Toradol, as well as in other common products like toothpaste.”
In an emailed statement to Yahoo Life, Moderna admitted to receiving a report of several allergic reactions at the San Diego facility, but added that there was no reason to believe there were any. would have more. “At this point, Moderna is not aware of any comparable clusters of adverse events from other vaccination centers that may have administered vaccines from the same lot or from other Moderna lots,” the pharmaceutical company said. .
Moderna said the lot includes more than 1.2 million doses of the vaccine, delivered to 1,700 vaccination sites in 37 states. More than 330,000 of these doses have been shipped to California and distributed to 287 suppliers, but the vast majority remain unused. The CDPH was unable to share a dose release schedule, but Parikh said that shouldn’t change anyone’s immunization plans.
“Americans shouldn’t hesitate,” Parikh said. “Reactions to vaccines are still extremely rare. With 400,000 U.S. deaths this year and on the rise, the risk of contracting COVID-19 and becoming seriously ill or dying from it is much more common.
For the latest news and updates on the coronavirus, follow to https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those with compromised immune systems continue to be at greatest risk. If you have any questions, please consult the CDC‘the sand WHO resource guides.
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