The Swiss Society of Allergology and Immunology (SGAI) has issued recommendations on what to look for in patients with known pre-existing allergic conditions when vaccinating against SARS-CoV-2.
(red) As a general principle for all vaccination sites, a trained health professional with direct access to a full emergency kit including epinephrine (e.g., Epipen® or Jext® auto-injector) should be on site for assessment and treatment of any general reaction at each vaccination [1].
Individuals to be vaccinated should answer the following questions prior to vaccination:
1. have you ever developed a severe allergic reaction that required emergency treatment?
- to a drug injected into the skin, muscle, or vein, or a
- Vaccination?
- What was the trigger?
- Is the trigger not known, or has it not been sought?
2. has there been a history of repeated (>2) severe allergic reactions to various unrelated medications, including laxatives taken by mouth, containing polyethylene glycol (PEG, macrogol) or tromethamine (TRIS, trometamol)?
Specific recommendations in case of positive allergy history are shown in Table 1.
Literature:
- Swiss Society of Allergology and Immunology (SGAI): recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination in persons with allergic diseases, https://ssai.ch/standpunkte (last accessed Feb. 16, 2021).
- Swissmedic: Factsheet Covid-19 vaccines – History of vaccine development, www.swissmedic.ch (last accessed Feb. 16, 2021).
DERMATOLOGIE PRAXIS 2021; 31(1): 5 (published 2/22/21, ahead of print).
