CDC Publishes Study on Allergic Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccine

Throughout 2020 the corona virus pandemic has been global in its impact. The arrival of a COVID-19 Vaccine has brought relief, hope and questions. Is the vaccine safe? In a very few cases individuals that received the vaccine had an anaphylactic reaction. Were these cases isolated incidents? Were there other types of reactions? Did these individuals have a history of anaphylactic reactions? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently published a study of anaphylactic reactions that occurred during December 14–23, 2020 showing that such reactions are exceedingly rare.

CDC Publishes Study on Allergic Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccine

By Dave Bloom
2021/01/07

Important note:This article is intended for those who understand vaccines as critical to maintaining their health and that of their families. It is NOT intended for those who are anti-vaccine and as such is NOT intended to foster a discussion on the merits of vaccines in this forum. It is also NOT intended to foster a discussion of the lethality of COVID-19 or the need for civic action to limit the spread of the disease.

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Overflowing thanksgiving; glorious gratitude!

As we wind up yet another year, it’s a good time to sit back and reflect on what has been accomplished in 2020. Of course nothing would have been possible without the hard work and support we receive every day from so many in our community. Here’s our founder Jon Terry’s list of people and organizations that have been especially helpful this past year in reaching our ongoing vision of "Not another life lost to anaphylaxis - not another life lost ANY life-threatening allergies!"

“Overflowing thanksgiving; glorious gratitude!”*

By Jon Terry
December 17^th, 2020

Greetings. At this time of an international health crisis, when all of us are confronting so many challenges and difficulties, I sincerely hope you and your families are safe and healthy.

Usually, my end of year letter is focused upon gratitude and thanksgiving, a list of items I felt fortunate to have participated in or achieved thru our program of awareness alertness and action.

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FDA Extends Comment Period on Sesame Labeling

In November 2020 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its draft guidance regarding the voluntary disclosure of sesame as an allergen. The deadline for comments has now been extended to February 25, 2021. This 45 day extension gives the allergy advocacy community another opportunity to provide critical input on this important issue. Comments need to be sent prior to the deadline to ensure that the FDA can evaluate them prior to their starting work on the final guidance.

FDA Extends Comment Period on Sesame Labeling

By Staff of www.foodsafetymagazine.com
January 4^th, 2021

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it is extending the comment period on its draft guidance regarding voluntary disclosure of sesame as an allergen to February 25, 2021, an extension of 45 days. Comments should be submitted before February 25, 2021 to ensure that FDA considers them before beginning work on the final guidance.

Comments on the draft voluntary sesame labeling guidance should be submitted to http://www.regulations.gov.

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Those Who Give the COVID-19 Vaccine Need to Be Trained to Use an EpiPen

Now that vaccines protecting people from the corona virus have arrived, the danger of dangerous attacks of anaphylaxis have arrived as well. Proper administration of epinephrine is now almost as important as using the vaccine itself. Our association fully supports comprehensive training on how to use an epinephrine auto-injector (EAI) device in an anaphylaxis emergency.

Those Who Give the COVID-19 Vaccine Need to Be Trained to Use an EpiPen

By Robert K. Houton

The COVID-19 vaccination that began rolling out this week to frontline medical workers will hopefully end our long nightmare with this virus and the pandemic. But there is one concern: 1.6% of the American population, or roughly 5 million people, have experienced a severe allergic attack, called anaphylaxis, and may have a severe reaction to the vaccine.

As a result, all sites that are injecting the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are required to have epinephrine auto-injector devices (Epi-Pens) as a safety precaution if an allergic reaction, occurs after the vaccine is given. Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, is the only medication recommended as a first-treatment medicine in reversing the life-threatening reaction in an anaphylactic attack.

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