I have allergies – Can I take the Covid-19 vaccine?

Bloomberg

As Malaysia implements the national Covid-19 vaccination programme, those of us who are healthcare professionals have numerous friends and acquaintances asking us about the safety of the vaccines. In particular is the issue of the risk of being vaccinated if we have a history of allergies.

It is recognised that some individuals experience a serious but rare side effect: a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis can occur after taking a drug, getting stung by a bee, eating something, etc, and not just from vaccines – and we often never know who is going to react in this way.