Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a cause of anaphylaxis to the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA COVID‐19 vaccine

On the first day of the UK vaccination campaign with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccine there were reports of 2 cases of anaphylaxis within minutes of administration of the Pfizer/BioNTech messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine and a third case of an allergic reaction not requiring adrenaline (ep...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical & Experimental Allergy 2021-06, Vol.51 (6), p.861-863
Main Authors: Sellaturay, Priya, Nasser, Shuaib, Islam, Sabita, Gurugama, Padmalal, Ewan, Pamela W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis - chemically induced
Anaphylaxis - diagnosis
Anaphylaxis - therapy
BNT162 Vaccine
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
COVID-19 Vaccines - adverse effects
Drug Hypersensitivity - diagnosis
Drug Hypersensitivity - etiology
Drug Hypersensitivity - therapy
Female
Humans
Intradermal Tests
Middle Aged
mRNA
Polyethylene glycol
Polyethylene Glycols - adverse effects
Predictive Value of Tests
Research Letter
Research Letters
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Treatment Outcome
Vaccination - adverse effects
Vaccine Excipients - adverse effects
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Summary:On the first day of the UK vaccination campaign with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccine there were reports of 2 cases of anaphylaxis within minutes of administration of the Pfizer/BioNTech messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine and a third case of an allergic reaction not requiring adrenaline (epinephrine). This was alarming, as anaphylaxis to vaccines is rare; in the order of 1 case per million doses (1), and therefore likely to injure public confidence. The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued precautionary advice restricting access to the vaccine (2), which was subsequently relaxed in line with the Summary of Product Characteristics. The cause of these vaccine anaphylaxis cases is unclear, but polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a candidate allergen (3,4). Here we demonstrate for the first time that allergy to PEG can cause anaphylaxis to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
ISSN:0954-7894
1365-2222
DOI:10.1111/cea.13874