Question for the great Aggies doctors on this board...

My mom is 60yo, high blood pressure, and overweight. She works for a school. She also has a severe allergy (analphlyaxis) to shellfish and a milder allergy to NSAIDs. Basically if a medicine says a side effect is facial swelling and hives she will and has reacted that way.

I want her to get the vaccine and she qualifies at our local hospital for the next round. But she is terrified due to her allergies, and unfortunately her allergist retired and she has not transferred to a new doctor to get their opinion.

What is the educated opinion on her receiving a vaccine? I would think she should take it at a hospital or clinic, versus a drive through or CVS, and have her epipen and someone with her. Any thoughts on one vaccine over the other?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, I am just trying to convince her she needs the vaccine sooner rather than later and that it is safe to get.

Not an MD but I did speak to one about this issue specifically and he said he has an 88y/o female patient that has a reaction to ANY ABx that is injected, taken orally, or even (his words) crushed up and thrown at her and he is still recommending that she get the vaccine. He is going to hold her over in his office for 30 mins instead of just 15 and have epi pens available. She is higher risk for where she lives (I am guessing assisted living) but the major belief is that the polyethylene glycol (PEG) is the contributing factor to the anaphylaxis reaction that most people are having.

It comes down to risk mitigation and willingness to have a provider take on the responsibility to ensure safety (his words, not mine)


My thoughts....
If she has epi pens available, she may be safe but that unfortunately is a risk that she is going to have to weigh in order to decide her vaccine status.

I'm not a doctor, I don't play one on TV, and I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. That said, my wife has an allergy to NSAIDs and carries an EpiPen. She qualified to get the vaccine at work (a large hospital in Houston). She went back and forth on, especially since she couldn't get ahold of her allergist before the appointment, which was scheduled somewhat last minute. She decided to get it (at work, with nurses and doctors monitoring people) because, as she said, "they know how to treat allergic reactions, but not necessarily COVID." She got the vaccine, stuck around for the suggested 30 minutes, and left. No problems or reaction at all. Just one person's experience, of course, but there you go.

If she does get it, I would feel much better about her getting it at a hospital, clinic, or doctors office, if I were you.

Anaphylaxis is pretty much impossible after that 30 min window right?

Again, I'm not a doctor, so I'm not going to comment on that. But from what I know, they ask people with a history of reactions to wait for 30 minutes and feel comfortable letting them go after that.

The vaccination clinic set up by our local hospitals mandate that everyone stay for 15 minutes after injection. People with history of allergies are being asked to stay for 30 or more. There's a socially distanced sitting area/lounge with TVs and snacks. All of our vac areas have at least one EMT and RN in the room.

Thus far the anaphylaxis risk seems to be with Pfizer. Get the Moderna shot at this time with her risks being that high. Have it done in a clinic that can handle anaphyalxis (i.e. not a grocery store).

Latest info I saw is 11 cases of anaphylaxis per million people. That's higher than other vaccines, but still not all that much. Just slightly over 1:100,000

Going by stats, her chance of dying from COVID if she catches it is between 1:40 and 1:70. I would very much recommend the vaccine. Even with her history it's about a thousand times safer than catching COVID