[ad_1]
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health caused very few cases of severe allergic reactions in the first three weeks of its administration across the country, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Among 4,041,396 doses administered over 21 days, a total of 10 cases of anaphylaxis were confirmed by CDC investigators. Four other cases of possible anaphylaxis are still under investigation.
No deaths have been linked to the vaccine.
“Based on this early surveillance, anaphylaxis after receiving the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine appears to be a rare event,” the researchers wrote in the CDC’s Weekly Morbidity and Mortality Report Friday.
The authors calculated that there were 2.5 cases of anaphylaxis per 1 million doses of Moderna vaccine administered. A similar study on the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech reported that there were 11.1 cases of anaphylaxis per 1 million doses of this vaccine during the first 10 days of administration.
Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that can be fatal if not treated promptly. It can be triggered by a vaccine or by exposure to certain foods, drugs, insect bites or latex. The usual treatment is an injection of epinephrine, which relaxes the muscles that keep air from reaching the lungs.
All 10 cases were reported to the vaccine adverse event reporting system, which the CDC maintains with the Food and Drug Administration to track safety issues that arise after the vaccines are deployed to the public. They were scattered across the country and involved different batches of vaccine.
A total of 1,266 Moderna vaccine-related adverse events were serious enough to be reported during the three-week period. This is a rate of 0.03%.
For comparison, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had an adverse event rate of 0.2% in its first 10 days.
Here’s what CDC investigators learned about the 10 cases of anaphylaxis:
• Patients were between 31 and 63 years old, with a median age of 47 years.
• The 10 patients were women. Even taking into account that women made up over 60% of all people who received the Moderna vaccine, this asymmetry is noticeable. Overall, 80% of anaphylaxis cases reported to VAERS involve women, the researchers noted.
• The median time for anaphylactic reactions to start was 7.5 minutes after receiving the vaccine.
• Nine of the patients started having symptoms within 15 minutes, including one who suffered from his first symptom just 1 minute after receiving the vaccine. The 10th patient showed no signs of a problem for 45 minutes.
• Four patients were treated in a hospital emergency room and then sent home.
• The other six patients were admitted to a hospital. Five of them ended up in an intensive care unit and four of them had to put a plastic tube in their windpipe to help them breathe.
• Nine of 10 patients had a history of allergies, including six who had had an allergic reaction to the drugs.
• Five patients had previously experienced anaphylaxis, although none of their cases was triggered by a vaccine.
The CDC authors confirmed 43 other cases of other allergic reactions, 60% of which were deemed “not serious.” The patients experienced a rash or itchy rash, an itchy sensation in the mouth and throat, a feeling of closed throat, and respiratory symptoms.
Half of these patients developed symptoms within 15 minutes of receiving the vaccine, and 73% of them developed symptoms within 30 minutes.
In 60% of cases, patients had a history of allergic reactions, usually to drugs or foods.
The 43 patients were between 22 and 96 years old and 91% of them were women.
The FDA granted emergency use authorization for the Moderna vaccine on December 18. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was cleared for emergency use a week earlier.
The CDC advises anyone who has an “immediate allergic reaction” to a first dose of Moderna vaccine or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine not to receive a second dose. In addition, patients should be asked about past allergic reactions before receiving either vaccine, the agency says.
Vaccination sites are advised to monitor people for up to 30 minutes after receiving their injections and have epinephrine on hand to treat anyone who has a bad reaction to any of the above. vaccines.
[ad_2]
Source link