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By Adriana Barrera
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A Mexican doctor who had a severe allergic reaction after receiving Pfizer Inc and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine remains hospitalized and has not fully recovered his muscle strength, health officials said on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old internist, who received the vaccine on December 30, suffered several seizures in the following days and is being treated in a specialist hospital that is part of the Mexican social security institute IMSS.
The MoH’s initial diagnosis after the reaction was encephalomyelitis. Encephalomyelitis is inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. The ministry said the doctor had a history of allergic reactions.
Victor Hugo Borja, director of IMSS, said the doctor had so far responded favorably to treatment, had no further seizures and had recovered some of the lost muscle strength.
“Today she was able to sit down and there is a possibility that she will be released in the following days,” Borja said at a press conference.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it was carefully monitoring allergic reactions to the coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc and urged people who have had a severe reaction not to receive the second dose.
A study published Wednesday in the CDC’s Weekly Death and Illness Report examining cases between December 14 and 23 identified 21 cases of anaphylaxis after the administration of 1,893,360 doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine.
Doctors are still investigating whether the doctor’s seizures and decreased muscle strength are related to the COVID-19 vaccine or to previous conditions. The ministry said there was no evidence from clinical trials indicating that anyone had developed inflammation of the brain after applying the vaccine.
Pfizer said it is aware that the Department of Health is investigating the case and has promised to continue to work “with any information requested of us.”
Mexico launched its COVID-19 vaccination plan before Christmas, prioritizing frontline workers.
(Reporting by Adriana Barrera; Written by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Sonya Hepinstall)
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