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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsLiveScience: What's causing rare allergic reactions to Pfizer's vaccine?
https://www.livescience.com/allergies-pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine.htmlPublic health officials are investigating the cause of several severe allergic reactions that were reported among hundreds of thousands of people vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine last week.
As of Friday (Dec. 18), six people who received the jab in the U.S. developed anaphylaxis, or a severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening if left untreated, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One of those patients had previously developed anaphylaxis after receiving a rabies vaccination, but it's not clear if the other participants also had a prior history of severe allergies.
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But are these events truly allergic reactions to the vaccine and if so, what is causing them? One possibility is a chemical commonly used in laxatives that is in both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. But it's also possible that some of the cases are not true allergic reactions at all, one expert told Live Science. And in either case, the reactions are very rare.
It's he leading culprit because the rest of the ingredients in Pfizer's vaccine are "lipids and salts and sugar and things that are unlikely allergens," said Dr. Purvi Parikh, allergist and immunologist at NYU Langone Health, who was not involved in the vaccine's development. PEG is found in many medications, such as those that treat constipation, but allergy to it is rare, Parikh said.
More at link, including Pfizer vax ingredients for those with allergies.
Mike 03
(16,616 posts)That is an interesting possibility.
Quite a good article.
EDIT: Not to be confused with its more toxic cousin, Ethylene Glycol, with which every fan of Forensic Files will no doubt be familiar, from all those homicide cases of spouses poisoning each other.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)I'm not a chemist, so not sure.
Glad you liked article.
Mike 03
(16,616 posts)Not sure about why, but just speculating:
Polyethylene glycol is (I think)* the basis of antifreeze, and these vaccines have to be kept at extremely cold temperatures. I'm wondering if that additive is to prevent the vaccine from freezing up or changing chemically during freezing???
*Or maybe not. There are several ethylene glycols that do different things. Some of them are used in antifreeze.
Maybe a DU chemist can help us out here.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)He will know. I hope he sees this.
Ya, I don't eat ice cream with that garbage in it.
Hopefully, the llama enzymes will work out. 🤞
MattBaggins
(7,904 posts)You most likely use it daily to shampoo your hair and brush your teeth.