Refused a jab due to allergies

[Catslovepies]

DH went to his appointment at our local Boots to get his Covid jab this afternoon. He was asked if he has any allergies and he said yes he has a peanut allergy but that's it's not a severe allergy. They told him they couldn't give him a vaccine because of his allergy and to ring 119 and they would arrange for him to have his jab at a hospital instead.

He got home and rang 119 and they said they don't arrange vaccines and to ring his GP. He's going to ring on Monday and hopefully he will get through and get an appointment somewhere soon. We're gutted as we were so looking forward to him having it. The thing is, I can't find anything online about anyone else being refused a vaccine due to a food allergy that isn't even a severe allergy. I'm wondering whether the people at Boots have made a mistake. Has anyone else heard of this happening and if what was the outcome?

I think the rules are supposed to be that you must wait for 15 mins after Pfizer no matter what and you should wait for a short time after the Oxford one if you are driving home, but no waiting timescale if you are walking home.

It’s quite normal for doctors to need to be present during vaccinations when someone has an allergy. I don’t know if they do but it would surely make sense for the mass vaccination hubs to have at least one onsite at all times for this reason.

Do Boots have Drs on site at their vaccine hubs? If not I agree they shouldn’t have given the jab

Am surprised your GP/NHS service sent them there when flagged with an allergy. I can see why Boots wouldn’t be taking any chances

Hopefully your GP can sort this out quickly

I was volunteering today (az) people driving were in/out in less than 5 mins. I had mine and the same. I was surprised how quick they were doing it

I thought 119 was also there to book but I was under the impression they were using the same system you can use to book for yourself so maybe because he needs to go through gp they’d not hwlp ?

Think they are being very careful - I’ve got a (very severe !) nut allergy and my gp nearly refused a flu jab because of the risk. Only gave it to me when I agreed to sit in the waiting room for ages afterwards with my epi-pen...

PP who said it's a different number to 119 for booking. It's not. That's how I booked & so did DS. It's the same number as for Test & Trace, you just go to a different part of the options.

I have allergies to medications and I had my vaccine today.

I just had to stay there for 15 minutes as a precaution.

I have moderate allergy to penicillin not Ana though. Had az jab today at gp centre. They checked re allergies but as I have the flu jab each year no problem it was fine. Only told to wait 15 mins before driving.

I'm penicillin and cefalosporin allergic as well as plasters, and got heavily quizzed about my reactions to them ( classic butterfly rash, swollen lips but no wheeze) . I was given a AZ by the Practice Nurse but had to stay in the waiting room for 15 minutes.
By the way, PP was incorrect, you don't need to have a doctor present to give an epipen- anyone can give it for the purpose of saving a life.
The Statutory Instrument (SI) is 1997 The Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order no 1830 Article 7
"The restriction imposed by s58 (2)(b) (restriction on administration) shall not apply to the administration to human beings of any of the following medicinal products for parenteral administration: Adrenaline injection 1 in 1000 (1 mg in 1mL), Atropine sulphate injection, Chlorpheniramine [chlorphenamine] injection, Cobalt edetate injection, Dextrose injection strong BPC, Diphenhydramine injection, Glucagon injection, Hydrocortisone injection, Mepyramine injection, Promethazine hydrochloride injection, Snake venom antiserum, Sodium nitrate injection, Sodium thiosulphate injection, Sterile pralidoxime. Where the administration is for the purpose of saving life in an emergency"

So Boots have given him hyper-cautious advice rather than following what is in the Green Book.

He doesn't have anaphylaxis so could have had Pfizer or AZ in any setting with no additional monitoring.

He isn't going to get Boots to change their mind so I suggest he rebooks at a big hub.

"Individuals with a history of immediate onset-anaphylaxis to multiple classes of drugs or an unexplained anaphylaxis should not be vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, except on the advice of an allergy specialist. However, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can be used as an alternative (if not otherwise contraindicated), particularly if they previously tolerated an injected influenza vaccine. The vaccine should be administered in a setting with full resuscitation facilities (e.g. a hospital), and a 30 minute observation period is recommended.‘ NHS guidance last updated 4th March."

That guidance is for people who have anaphylaxis "to multiple classes of drugs or an unexplained anaphylaxis". People who are just allergic to nuts don't fall into this category.

Flamingo that is not correct, I have multiple anaphylactic allergies and although I could only have the Astra Zeneca jab due to one being an anti biotic I had it at the regional centre where resus facility is available not a hospital

DS 17 will also need to be done there as he too has a severe allergy

In both our cases the system flagged us and our vaccines were booked directly by the surgery to ensure the correct centre and vaccination were available

@Tomnooktoldmeto my GP who is well aware of my multiple allergies sent me direct to a regional centre staffed by doctors, nurses and paramedics.
My DS drove me there as he is a HCP and fully trained in anaphylaxis protocol.

It all felt very safe and I was just fine.

Dh is allergic to bee stings (side effect of beekeeping) and carries an epileptic. He had the AZ vaccine with no problems.

Both dh and ds have anaphylaxis peanut allergy. Dh had the AZ and DS (works for the NHS) had the Pfizer - both were absolutely fine

The guidance on allergies and Pfizer vaccine has changed so that it is only contraindicated if you have an allergy to one of ingredients in the vaccine, particularly polyethylene glycol.
However, apparently a vaccinator is personally responsible for their administration of a vaccine so if they don't want to administer it to someone, I gather they can refuse to do so...

The vaccinator is not responsible, see photo below

I have a severe allergy to nuts (anaphylactic shock). I was called for my vaccine at a hub outside a major hospital. It was the Pfizer vaccine. They needed me to check the list of ingredients very carefully and confirm I was not allergic to them. They could approve me for the vaccine since I wasn’t allergic to any of the jab’s ingredients AND knew what my allergies were (ie they specifically asked the question was “do you have any allergic reactions to unknown allergens?”). Since I have been allergy tested and know all the allergens I had no “unknown allergies”. They double checked with the Gp on site and got me signed off for the jab. They did make me stay the full 15 minutes to check no allergic reaction though.

My DS has wide ranging allergies including one occasion of unexplained anaphylaxis. So thanks folks for sharing. Very helpful. Must admit to worry about him getting the vaccination at all.

@Cookerhood

The vaccinator is not responsible, see photo below

Well, I did say 'apparently' and 'I gather...' because I was giving the vaccinators the benefit of the doubt.

The Pfizer contraindications are only for allergies to the ingredients in the vaccine. That guidance was updated in January (or even before that). The main allergen in Pfizer is polyethylene glycol, a relatively common ingredient in medicines and cosmetics, so hopefully someone would have encountered it before, although allergies do exacerbate with repeated exposure (hence concerns for the second doses).

So any vaccinator refusing to vaccinate someone with allergies to substances other than the substances in the vaccine does not know the current guidance.

@Cookerhood

The vaccinator is not responsible, see photo below

Cookerhood, just to explain, the registered health professional is absolutely responsible for their actions with regard to assessment for and administration of the vaccine under a PGD. The difference is they can only administer in the circumstances listed in the PGD, whereas an independent prescriber can make a more nuanced decision appropriate to the individual circumstances.

With regard to allergies it doesn't make any difference. It can be given unless the individual is known to be allergic to any of the components of the vaccine, but the HCP is still responsible for their assessment.

I was refused AZ last weekend on the basis of unknown allergies/risk of anaphylaxis and was told I needed to ring 119 and re-book for a hospital vaccine. 119 couldn't book, my local advice line was useless, so am waiting on my GP discussing with allergy clinic.

I was told that as a result of yellow card reports of anaphylaxis to both Pfizer and AZ the guidance was changed last week.

@ViperAtTheGatesOfDawn

I was refused AZ last weekend on the basis of unknown allergies/risk of anaphylaxis and was told I needed to ring 119 and re-book for a hospital vaccine. 119 couldn't book, my local advice line was useless, so am waiting on my GP discussing with allergy clinic.

I was told that as a result of yellow card reports of anaphylaxis to both Pfizer and AZ the guidance was changed last week.

Ah, that is a useful update to know. I did hear about a batch in Austria that had caused 2 serious reactions and was all withdrawn.

They haven't said the batches in Austria caused it, in fact I think they doubt it, but they've withdrawn them while investigating.

www.thesun.co.uk/news/14262469/austria-suspends-jabs-astra-zeneca-vaccine-precaution/
(Sorry about the Sun link, it was the first one I came across)

The latest yellow card weekly report is here:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-adverse-reactions/coronavirus-vaccine-summary-of-yellow-card-reporting

There isn't a huge discrepancy in anaphylaxis reports between the 2 main vaccines, and obviously most with a known risk aren't having Pfizer, but it's clearly significant enough with respect to AZ to result in new advice.