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The warning on Wednesday, came a day after the U.K. became the first western nation to begin a Covid vaccination program, after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency approved the Pfizer-BioNTech shot last week.
“As is common with new vaccines the MHRA have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination,” Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, said in a statement.
June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said her team looked at two case reports of allergic reactions on Tuesday evening. Both of the people, staff members of the National Health Service, are recovering well, the NHS said in a statement.
“We know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn’t a feature, that if we need to strengthen our advice now that we’ve had this experience in the vulnerable populations, we get that advice to the field immediately,” Raine told a panel of lawmakers on Wednesday.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they’re supporting the MHRA in its investigation.
“In the pivotal phase 3 clinical trial, this vaccine was generally well tolerated with no serious safety concerns reported by the independent data monitoring committee,” the companies said in a statement.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
