Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
UK Issues Warning After 2 People Have Allergic Reactions To COVID Shot
The Washington Post: British Regulators Issue Allergy Warning Over Pfizer Vaccine
The day after the U.K.'s mass vaccination campaign began, Britain’s medical regulatory agency warned that “any person with a history of significant allergic reaction to a vaccine, medicine or food” should not receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The announcement came after two health-care workers reacted adversely to the shot. (Armus, 12/9)
The Wall Street Journal: Two In U.K. Suffer Allergic Reaction To Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine
Two of the first people vaccinated in the U.K. on Tuesday with the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shot responded adversely to the injection, the country’s National Health Service said, prompting the regulator to issue new guidance warning those with a history of significant allergic reactions against having the inoculation. “Both are recovering well,” said Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS. (Sugden, 12/9)
CBS News: U.K. Warns Against Giving Pfizer Vaccine To People Prone To Severe Allergic Reactions
NHS England said in a statement that both of the medical workers who experienced anaphylactoid reactions to the Pfizer vaccine had a "strong past history of allergic reactions," and that both had recovered after treatment. "As is common with new vaccines the MHRA (U.K. drug regulator) have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday," NHS national Medical Director for England, Professor Stephen Powis, said in the statement. (Reals, 12/9)
BBC News: Allergy Warning Over New Jab
Dr June Raine, head of the MHRA, said it was only right to take this step now that "we've had this experience". Reactions like this are uncommon, but do happen with other vaccines, including the annual flu jab.Several thousand people were vaccinated on Tuesday in hospital clinics on the first day of the UK rollout of the new Covid jab. (Triggle and Schraer, 12/9)
