An Alaskan healthcare worker has suffered a rare allergic reaction after taking Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
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This is the first case of the vaccine causing an allergic reaction in the United States despite experts saying it is be expected. The unidentified healthcare worker who received the vaccine on Tuesday started to feel “flushed” within the first 10 minutes and started to experience shortness of breath and an accelerated heart rate.
As reported by CNN, Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Anne Zink said in a statement that all of their medical sites with the vaccine must have the necessary medications to handle anyone who experiences an allergic reaction.
“We expected that a side effect like this could occur after reports of anaphylaxis were made in England after people there received the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. All sites that are approved to provide vaccinations in Alaska must have medications on hand to deal with an allergic reaction and that was the case in Juneau.”
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The female worker reportedly took the vaccine at the Barlett Regional Hospital in Juneau along with their colleagues. After she received the shot, they were placed in a vaccine monitoring area so doctors could see if they had any reactions to the shot. Aside from the United States, there were two reported cases of allergic reactions in the United Kingdom.
However, medical officials have warned the public not to take the vaccine if they ever have any reactions to a shot or other medical injectable product.