‘Get informed’: Duke doctor with history of severe allergies receives COVID-19 vaccine

DURHAM, NC (WTVD) – A doctor Duke with a history of severe allergies who recently received her first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, urges people like her to do their research and talk to their doctor about the possibility of getting vaccinated.

Dr Leonor Corsino, endocrinologist and assoc. Duke’s medical professor told ABC11 she did her research before choosing to get the vaccine and found that the benefits far outweighed the risks.

“There are many reasons for this,” she says. “One is obviously because I wanted to be vaccinated to protect myself and my patients.”

Many patients treated with Corsino each week have diabetes and are at a higher risk of serious illness if they contract the virus.

“Second, I believe in vaccination,” Corsino said. “I have always received all of my vaccines in the past. I trust science, as a researcher myself.”

According to the CDC vaccine adverse event reporting system, there have been seven reports of allergic reactions to Pfizer vaccine and one to Moderna vaccine in the United States.

The CDC recently updated its guidance, accordingly:

• People who are allergic to any ingredient in a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, including PEG or polysorbate, should not receive any of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines.
• If you have had a severe allergic reaction after receiving the first dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, you should not receive the second dose.
• If you have had an immediate allergic reaction, even if it was not serious, to any of the ingredients in a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, you should not be receiving any of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines currently available.

In 2012, Corsino found herself in Duke’s emergency room, unsure of what triggered the anaphylactic reaction that made her always wear an Epipen.

When asked about getting the Pfizer vaccine during the early days of her deployment to Duke, she refused.

“However, after seeing that over 2 million healthcare providers have received the vaccine in the past two weeks, and looking at the number of cases that have been reported, I feel more at ease,” she declared.

So, after doing his research, Corsino received his first dose of Pfizer vaccine on December 28.

“I actually didn’t have a lot of worries, no pain in my arm and I know some people have reported it,” she said. “I had a little red in my ears and a little tired the next day. But afterwards, I feel perfectly fine.”
As a member of Duke’s Latin-19, an advocacy team formed during the pandemic to reach out and help the Latin American population through it, Corsino said it was one more reason for them to take the lead. informed decision to get vaccinated.

“My goal as a Latina and an immigrant myself is to educate my community so that they feel comfortable following the recommendations, so that we don’t continue to lose precious lives due to this pandemic. which affects them disproportionately, ”she said. .

For now, Corsino has said that she encourages others to do what she has done.

“Read about it,” she said. “Educate yourself. Take the time to make the decision.”

Now she can’t wait to schedule her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“I’m not worried,” she said. “I have my Epipen. We know anaphylaxis is something we can treat. And in that regard, I feel confident to receive my second dose.”