Echoing British health officials, the FDA warned Americans on Saturday that the Pfizer Covid vaccine may cause some issues for people with known severe allergies.
Dr. Peter Marks, the FDA Biologics Director, said that urged allergic people to avoid the jab and specifically those allergic to one of its ingredients.
“About 1.6 percent of the population has had a severe allergic reaction, of some sort or another, to a food or some environmental aspects,” he said.
“We would really not like to have that many people not be able to receive the vaccine. So we looked very closely at the databases and we feel comfortable telling people that, unless they’ve had a severe reaction to the vaccine or one of its components, they can receive it.”
The official also noted that vaccination sites will be ready to handle allergic reactions if they occurred.
“We may have to modify things as we move forward, but for right now, we’re comfortable with this. The extra piece of this is that centers will have the ability to treat allergic reactions. I think that’s an extra precaution.”
