While the risk of allergy associated with ragweed pollen is high this fall, allergists point out that suffering from this condition should not lead to avoiding being vaccinated against Covid-19.
“Let’s stop depriving French people suffering from allergies of vaccination against Covid-19”. In a press release, the French Federation of Allergology (FFAL) recalls that being allergic is not a contraindication to vaccination against Covid-19, with the exception of two very specific cases.
“Confusion reigns in the minds”
“Although no study or recommendation has shown that vaccines against Covid-19 constitute a risk for people with allergies, many French people still think so”, say allergists. “The confusion that reigns in people’s minds today is a major obstacle to the smooth running of the vaccine strategy”, pursue health professionals.
Indeed, with 20 million people with allergies in France, it will be impossible for the country to achieve herd immunity if they are ruled out by health professionals or rule out vaccination themselves. In addition, people with severe asthma have an increased risk of developing severe forms of Covid-19 (including SARS CoV-2 pneumonia), hence the importance of getting vaccinated.
Two contraindications to the vaccine
The French Federation of Allergology again indicates the only two contraindications to the anti-coronavirus vaccine:
– the vaccine is only contraindicated for patients with a documented allergy to polyethylene glycol (PEG), present in the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, or to polysorbate, present in the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.
– It is also contraindicated for patients with a history of grade 2 anaphylaxis (involvement of at least 2 organs) following a first injection of an mRNA vaccine.
Thus, all people with a respiratory allergy (pollens, mites, etc.), food or drug, including in their severe forms, can be vaccinated with confidence.
When to consult an allergist?
“Today, allergology departments and private allergists are saturated with requests for appointments for pre-vaccination allergological assessments, which are often unjustified”, still alert the doctors. “Allergies to PEG and/or polysorbate being particularly rare, it is not useful to be tested if you have never had an allergic reaction until now”, they add. Only people who have already had a severe reaction after another vaccine, an unidentified drug or an injectable treatment should therefore consult an allergist beforehand and/or report it to their doctor.
Pr. Frédéric de Blay, president of the French Federation of Allergology, concludes: “so that allergic patients can make their appointments with complete peace of mind, we ask healthcare professionals to reassure them and to refer them to allergists only if they correspond to the three cases specified from January. As for allergic patients who want an certificate contraindicating vaccination, only patients affected by one or both absolute contraindications are eligible.
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