Putting Covid-19 vaccine allergies in perspective

We should expect some people to develop side effects, but the shot is still safer than the disease

A nurse holding up the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a hospital in Turin, Italy, on Dec 30, 2020. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

(NYTIMES) At this point, most of us have heard about allergic reactions to Covid-19 vaccines: the doctor in Boston who had to administer his EpiPen, the hospital worker in Alaska who had trouble breathing.

But it's not at all surprising that allergic reactions happen. What matters most is the severity and the rate at which they occur. And for the coronavirus vaccines, there's no doubt the value of vaccination outweighs the risk.

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