People who have a have a history of “significant” allergic reactions have been urgently told not to receive the coronavirus vaccine currently being rolled out.
UK regulators issued the warning after two people who had the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 jab on Tuesday suffered allergic reactions, The Mirror reports.
Vaccinations were first issued yesterday across the UK and started with elderly care home residents. NHS workers and clinically extremely vulnerable are also top of the priority list.
It is understood NHS England confirmed that two staff members who received the jab suffered an allergic reaction. It is not clear what the reaction was or how severe.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has since issued advice that anyone who has a history of “significant” allergic reactions - including to medicines, food or vaccines - should not receive the jab.
It comes as Margaret Keenan, 90, was the first person in the UK to receive the jab, having been given the life-saving vaccine at 6.31am in Coventry.
In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon met with vaccinators at hospitals who were the very first to receive the jab.
The vaccine has since been given to several people in 50 hospitals across the UK.
Like all vaccines, the Covid-19 vaccine can cause side effects, although most are mild and go away within a few days.
The UK government explained: “Most side effects are mild or moderate and go away within a few days of appearing. If side effects such as pain and/or fever are troublesome, they can be treated by medicines for pain and fever such as paracetamol."
The vaccine has undergone the same rigorous testing procedures that all new drugs are subjected to across the European Union.
Britain's medicines regulator, the MHRA, last week ruled the jab, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe to be rolled out.
Scotland is expected to receive an estimated 320,000 doses in the first round of distribution across the UK.
