CASES of people having anaphylactic reactions after Covid vaccinations have led to WA’s chief health officer releasing advice for people generally and extra precaution for anyone with a history of severe allergies.
Dr Andrew Robertson said overnight information had come to light about four cases of people potentially experiencing anaphylactic reactions (severe allergic reaction) within 30 minutes of receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine in Queensland, which have been reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
“Since commencing the Covid vaccination program, the WA vaccine safety advisory committee has received reports of two individuals treated with adrenaline for an allergic reaction following Covid vaccination – one after receipt of the Pfizer vaccine, of which we have administered 13,292 doses, and one after AstraZeneca vaccine, of which 9652 doses have been administered,’’ he said.
“Both have a history of previous allergic reactions and both individuals responded well to a single dose of adrenaline and recovered under observation without further incident.’’
“Common side effects of the Covid-19 vaccination include fever, chills, fatigue and body aches; these symptoms usually last 1-2 days and taking Paracetamol can reduce the severity of these symptoms in most cases.
“As a precaution, all persons are asked to wait at the clinic for 15 minutes after vaccine administration so they can be observed for possible reactions, and if the individual has a history of severe allergies the observation period is extended to 30 minutes.’’
He said there were stringent vaccine safety monitoring and reporting processes in place across Australia to detect and respond to any vaccination safety concerns and clinic staff were well aware of how to manage and report any suspected adverse events.
Any person reported as having a suspected allergic reaction after Covid vaccination is offered clinical assessment by expert immunologists to determine optimal management going forward.
Further to the Queensland notifications, the TGA has released a statement.
It is conducting a comprehensive analysis of information from the use of Covid-19 vaccines in Australia to date to confirm that the rate of anaphylaxis observed in Australia is consistent with the expected rate.
The initial review is that both vaccines should continue to be administered as per TGA-approved product information, which the Western Australian Covid-19 vaccination program follows.
AMA WA president Andrew Miller said WA’s vaccine safety monitoring and reporting processes were stringent.
Dr Miller said anaphylactic reactions though rare were usual with all vaccines.
