Coronavirus Vaccines

Expert panel clears mRNA vaccines for those with allergies

Big majority of 32,000 such individuals can get jabs with the restriction lifted from today

Individuals with a history of anaphylaxis and allergic reactions to other drugs, food, insect stings or unknown triggers can safely have mRNA vaccines, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said yesterday.

An expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination recommended letting this group of people receive mRNA vaccines, after careful study of data both globally and locally. The previous restriction will be removed from today.

This means that a large majority of the 32,000 individuals who could not be given the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines because of medical reasons can now receive them under the national programme, the ministry said.

But a minority who have a history of anaphylaxis or allergic reactions to other vaccines must first be evaluated by an allergist before they can be deemed suitable for the vaccines. These individuals can be referred to an allergist for evaluation that is fully subsidised by the Government.

Another 2,000 people who developed anaphylaxis or allergic reactions such as hives after receiving the first dose of an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine should not receive an mRNA-based vaccine again, the ministry added.

MOH said it is evaluating and will bring in non-mRNA vaccines more suitable for such individuals to protect them against Covid-19.

It expects to do so before the end of the year after the vaccines are approved by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), and will provide more details when these vaccines are available. It also said those in this group who do not want to wait can get a vaccine through the Special Access Route (SAR).

Non-mRNA vaccines used in vaccination programmes in other countries include those developed by Sinovac and Johnson & Johnson.

Sinovac's vaccine is available through the SAR. It uses a more traditional vaccine technology whereby an inactivated form of the coronavirus is used to trigger an immune response, similar to that used in vaccines for diseases such as polio.

The Johnson & Johnson's viral vector vaccine uses a modified version of a different virus to elicit an immune response.

Yesterday, MOH also announced it would license about 20 private medical centres to tap the Government's existing stock of Sinovac vaccine doses for free to administer the shot. Providers will be allowed to charge patients a fee to cover their costs. The Government will reimburse this fee to any of the 34,000 individuals who opt for Sinovac's vaccine after they were previously rejected from taking mRNA vaccines.

In a separate statement, the expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination said it had adopted a cautious stance in recommending earlier that people should not take mRNA vaccines if they have a history of anaphylaxis - a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. This was in the light of overseas and local reports of anaphylaxis with the mRNA vaccines in people with a history of allergies, when those vaccines were first introduced.

It noted that local and international data has been reassuring and no safety issues have been found after inoculating people with a history of anaphylaxis to other triggers, such as medicine and food.

It stressed that those with a history of serious allergic reactions to any component of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine are still not advised to receive it, and those who have an anaphylatic reaction after the first dose should not receive the second dose.

"Non-mRNA vaccines may be authorised for use by HSA and be made available in the future, hence these individuals are advised to wait for these vaccines instead," said the committee.

It added that it will continue reviewing safety data to see if more people who are currently not eligible to receive mRNA vaccines can be inoculated with them.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 05, 2021, with the headline Expert panel clears mRNA vaccines for those with allergies. Subscribe