CDC issues new guidance on COVID vaccine after numerous allergic reactions in multiple states

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued undated guidance on Saturday about the coronavirus vaccine after multiple allergic reactions happened in individuals who had just received the vaccine.

What is the CDC now saying?

The government agency now says that Americans who have a history of allergic reactions to any of the ingredients present in the vaccine should not be inoculated.

The guidance reads:

If you have ever had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient in a COVID-19 vaccine, CDC recommends that you should not get that specific vaccine. If you have had a severe allergic reaction to other vaccines or injectable therapies, you should ask your doctor if you should get a COVID-19 vaccine. Your doctor will help you decide if it is safe for you to get vaccinated.

However, the CDC said that people with a general history of allergies may still be vaccinated.

"CDC recommends that people with a history of severe allergic reactions not related to vaccines or injectable medications—such as allergies to food, pet, venom, environmental, or latex—may still get vaccinated. People with a history of allergies to oral medications or a family history of severe allergic reactions, or who might have an milder allergy to vaccines (no anaphylaxis)—may also still get vaccinated," the CDC explained. "If you have a severe allergic reaction after getting the first shot, you should not get the second shot."

The CDC further said that individuals with a history of "severe allergic reactions" will be monitored for 30 minutes after receiving the vaccine.

What is the background?

The development comes after the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating at least five allergic reactions to the vaccine across multiple states.

At least two of those reactions happened at the same hospital in Juneau, Alaska, requiring one person to be hospitalized.

Meanwhile, a hospital north of Chicago temporarily halted vaccine administration after four staff members had allergic reactions upon inoculation. That hospital will resume vaccine administration on Sunday.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said at a press conference that experts were not sure what had caused the allergic reactions, but identified polyethylene glycol as the potential "culprit."

The ingredient is present in both Pfizer's vaccine and Moderna's vaccine.