After clinical trials showed no major side effects with Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, the U.K. is attaching a new warning after severe allergic reactions in two patients who were among the first to receive it outside the clinical trial.
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Warning issued for Pfizer's COVID vaccine
The warning is for patients with a history of "significant" allergic reactions to food, vaccines or medications, who are advised not to get Pfizer's COVID vaccine. According to CNN, the two patients who received the vaccine were healthcare workers in the U.K. They developed an allergic reaction the day after receiving the first shot.
Both healthcare workers had a significant history of allergic reactions. They both carried auto-injections of adrenaline with them because of their history, PA Media reports. Officials say both patients are recovering from their allergic reactions well. The U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency advises that the vaccinations "only be carried out in facilities where resuscitation measures are available."
Thousands are believed to have received Pfizer's COVID vaccine on Tuesday in the U.K. It's the first mass roll-out of any of the coronavirus vaccines that are pending emergency use authorization in multiple countries.
Meanwhile, the People's Vaccine Alliance said today that wealthy countries have bought enough doses of the coronavirus vaccines to immunize their populations three times. However, developing countries are being left behind, according to CNN. The People's Vaccine Alliance said in 67 of the world's poorest countries, only one in 10 people may be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of next year.
In developed countries, the rush to secure vaccine doses started in the first weeks of the pandemic, resulting in a surplus of doses being ordered. Countries that are home to only 14% of the planet's population own over 50% of the most effective vaccines.
The People's Vaccine Alliance is calling on pharmaceutical companies to share their intellectual property and technology with the World Health Organization. It also called on the world's governments to agree to send vaccine doses to developing countries. The goal is to close the disparity between developed and developing nations as the world tries to break out of the coronavirus pandemic.
