CDC and Public Health Experts Prepare For Side Effects, Including Anaphylaxis, as a Result of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) is aware of a healthcare worker who reported anaphylaxis, a serious allergic reaction, after being given Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Anaphylaxis is a rare event following vaccination and CDC is evaluating the case.

CDC and public health experts prepared for a side effect like this after reports of anaphylaxis were made in England.

Appropriate medical treatment for severe allergic reactions must be immediately available in the event of an anaphylactic reaction occurs.

Public health experts and CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System quickly detected the case, demonstrating that the vaccine safety monitoring program is working as planned, with the ability to rapidly detect and evaluate adverse events.

As COVID-19 vaccine is administered in the US., there may be significant adverse events or clusters of adverse events reported. CDC will continue to be vigilant in monitoring the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and will be transparent in its communications with the public.