Virus World

Summary

What is already known about this topic?

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is an emerging, tick bite–associated allergic condition characterized by potentially life-threatening hypersensitivity to an oligosaccharide found in most mammalian meat and products derived from it; however, in the absence of national surveillance, the geographic distribution and number of cases are largely unknown.

What is added by this report?

The number of suspected AGS cases in the United States has increased substantially since 2010, and states with established populations of lone star ticks are most affected, although suspected AGS cases were also identified in areas outside of this tick’s range.

What are the implications for public health practice?

These data can facilitate initiating AGS surveillance, improve health care provider education in high-risk areas, and enhance targeted public health outreach and prevention.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday said it was monitoring reports of allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccination and made recommendations on how people with histories of allergies should proceed. Anyone who had a severe reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine should not get the second dose, the agency said, defining severe as needing the medication epinephrine or treatment in a hospital. People who have had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient in a COVID-19 vaccine should avoid the vaccine formulation containing the ingredient, CDC said. Two vaccines have been approved in the United States under emergency use authorizations. Individuals with histories of severe allergic reaction to vaccines should consult their doctors about the COVID-19 shot. The CDC said people with severe allergies to food, pets, latex or environmental conditions as well as people with allergies to oral medication or a family history of severe allergic reactions could still get vaccinated.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating around five allergic reactions that happened after people were administered Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine in the United States this week. On Friday, the FDA said that the Moderna Inc vaccine, which received emergency use authorization, should not be given to individuals with a known history of a severe allergic reaction to any components of the shot. Britain’s medical regulator has said that anyone with a history of anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reactions to a medicine or food, should not be given the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

New CDC Guidelines (dec. 19, 2020) available:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/allergic-reaction.html

(Reuters) - A doctor in Boston with a shellfish allergy developed a severe allergic reaction after receiving Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing the doctor. Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, a geriatric oncology fellow at Boston Medical Center, said he had a severe reaction almost immediately after being vaccinated, feeling dizzy and with a racing heart, the NYT reported. It is the first severe reaction publicly linked to Moderna’s vaccine, which is in its first week of a nationwide rollout. David Kibbe, a spokesman at the Boston Medical Center, said in a statement on Friday that Dr. Sadrzadeh “felt he was developing an allergic reaction and was allowed to self-administer his personal epi-pen. He was taken to the Emergency Department, evaluated, treated, observed and discharged. He is doing well today.” A U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said last week that the FDA is investigating around five allergic reactions that occurred after people were administered Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s medical regulator warned Wednesday that people with a history of serious allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech as investigators look into whether two reactions on the first day of the country’s vaccination program were linked to the shot. Professor Stephen Powis, medical director for National Health Service in England, said the advice was issued on a “precautionary basis” and that the people who had reactions had recovered. Pfizer and BioNTech said they were working with investigators “to better understand each case and its causes.″

In the meantime, the Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has said people should not received the vaccine if they have had a significant allergic reaction to a vaccine, medicine or food, such as those who have been told to carry an adrenaline shot — such as an EpiPen — or others who have had potentially fatal allergic reactions. The medical regulator also said vaccinations should be carried out only in facilities that have resuscitation equipment. Such advice isn’t uncommon; several vaccines already on the market carry warnings about allergic reactions, and doctors know to watch for them when people who’ve had reactions to drugs or vaccines in the past are given new products. The two people who reported reactions were NHS staff members who had a history of significant allergies and carried adrenaline shots. Both had serious reactions, but recovered after treatment, the NHS said. Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the regulator had done the right thing, but the general public shouldn’t be worried about getting the vaccine....