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MDPI, Vaccines, 2(10), p. 286, 2022

DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10020286

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COVID-19 Vaccination Safety and Tolerability in Patients Allegedly at High Risk for Immediate Hypersensitivity Reactions

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

The reported incidence of immediate hypersensitivity reactions (IHR) including anaphylaxis after COVID-19 vaccination is 10-fold higher than for other vaccines. Several patient groups are theorized to be at particular risk. Since specific vaccination guidelines for these patients are based on expert opinion, we performed a retrospective monocentric analysis of the tolerability of adenoviral vector and mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines in a cohort of patients allegedly at high risk of IHR. Reactions were assessed immediately on-site by allergists during a monitored vaccination protocol and after 3–7 days through telephone interviews. The cohort included 196 patients (aged 12–84 years) with primary mast cell disease (pMCD, 50.5%), idiopathic anaphylaxis (IA, 19.9%), hereditary angioedema (HAE, 5.1%) or miscellaneous indications (24.5%). Twenty-five immediate reactions were observed in 221 vaccine doses (11.3%). Most occurred in IA or miscellaneous patients. None fulfilled anaphylaxis criteria and most were mild and self-limiting. Reaction occurrence was significantly associated with female sex. In total, 13.5% of pMCD patients reported mast cell activation-like symptoms within 72 h post-vaccination. All pediatric pMCD patients (n = 9, 12–18 years) tolerated both mRNA-based vaccine doses. In summary, adenoviral vector and mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines were safe and well-tolerated in patients with pMCD, HAE, and IA. No anaphylaxis was observed. The mild and subjective nature of most reactions suggests a nocebo effect associated with vaccination in a medicalized setting. Patients with pMCD could experience mild flare-ups of mast cell activation-like symptoms, supporting antihistamine premedication.