Investigation of Reported Anaphylaxis Post COVID-19 Vaccination in Subjects with History of Allergies and Anaphylaxis

Abstract

Two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are currently approved in the United States, and one viral-vector vaccine, J&J/Janssen, is authorized for limited use. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database gathers reports of adverse effects, including anaphylaxis. In this manuscript, we provide a summary of reported incidence of anaphylaxis rates following administration of the two mRNA and one viral-vector COVID-19 vaccine. A detailed investigation of the relative risk of anaphylaxis for recipients with or without a prior history of allergy and/or anaphylaxis is also described. Overall reported incidence of anaphylaxis is 4.49 [95% CI: 0.25 – 8.73] cases per million doses administered. The reported risk of anaphylaxis is 1.83 times greater for recipients with prior allergies and no anaphylaxis but 17.70 times greater for recipients with prior allergies and anaphylaxis.