‘You should not have the vaccine’ if you have allergies – virologist warns of side effects

Vaccine: Dr Chris Smith says ‘all medicines have a side effect’

People with a history of significant allergic reactions have been warned against getting the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which was approved for mass use in the UK last week. The warning comes after two NHS workers experienced allergic reactions on Tuesday. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) advise against people getting the vaccine if they’ve had reactions to medicines, food or vaccines.

The MHRA’s advice was echoed by virologist Dr Chris Smith.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he explained: “All drugs, all medicines, all interventions like this have side effects – there is no such thing as a drug without side effects.

“All of us look different on the outside because we all genuinely genetically different, and that means we’re all subtly very different on the inside biochemically.

“When we make drugs and medicines it’s a best fit – it’s a bit like the shoe shop, taking the first pair of shoes off the shelf and saying please wear these. And we haven’t measured everyone’s feet individually.

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“That’s an aspiration of medicine in the future, that kind of personalised medicine.

“But this does mean you do occasionally get a pharmaceutical equivalent of an ill-fitting pair of shoes in a very small number of people.”

Dr Smith said the goal of making any kind of medicine or drug is to minimise the number of people who end up with a badly fitting pair of shoes. 

“But it does happen,” Dr Smith added. “We do accept it happens, and the key thing here is MHRA have been very fast to say, ‘well we’ve noticed this, we’ll investigate, but in the meantime as a cautionary note we’ll advise people who are in this particular position’.

“And there are few of them. It’s not like we’re expecting this to happen a lot.

“But just as a cautionary note, anyone in that situation shouldn’t take this until we learn a bit more about why it happened in those two individuals.”

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations (JVCI) has also warned against pregnant women and children under the age of 16 getting the vaccination

There is lack of evidence as to how the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine affects children, so children under the age of 16 won’t be offered the vaccine.

According to the JVCI, further research is being carried out to understand the safety of COVID-19 vaccine in children.

The JVCI recommended pregnant women not come forward to receive the vaccine for a similar reason as children.

It stated: “There is no data as yet on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy, either from human or animal studies.

“Given the lack of evidence, JCVI favours a precautionary approach, and does not currently advise COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy.

“Women should be advised not to come forward for vaccination if they may be pregnant or are planning a pregnancy within three months of the first dose.”

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the MHRA.

Most side effects are mild and should not last longer than a week, advises the NHS.

Side effects may include:

• A sore arm where the needle went in
• Feeling tired
• A headache
• Feeling achy

The health body adds: “You can take painkillers, such as paracetamol, if you need to.

“If you have a high temperature you may have coronavirus or another infection.

“If your symptoms get worse or you are worried, call 111.

“It’s very rare for anyone to have a serious reaction to the vaccine (anaphylaxis). If this does happen, it usually happens within minutes.

“Staff giving the vaccine are trained to deal with allergic reactions and treat them immediately.”

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