Penicillin Allergy Doesn’t Rule Out Pfizer Vaccine
The Claim
If you’re allergic to penicillin, you cannot get the Pfizer vaccine.
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Emerging story
A Facebook post by David Bird on January 25th, 2021 states that his Mother-in-law went to get a Pfizer vaccine, and “they said they wouldn’t allow her to have it” because she is allergic to Penicillin and the vaccine “could close her airway.”
The post received more than two thousand shares with many people commenting, saying that it isn’t true based on the fact that they have a penicillin allergy themselves and safely received the Pfizer vaccine, or they have safely administered the Pfizer vaccine to someone with a penicillin allergy.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be fake. According to the Public Health England’s Green Book, “There are very few individuals who cannot receive the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.” They specify that: “The vaccine should not be given to those who have had a previous systemic allergic reaction to a previous dose of the same COVID-19 vaccine or any component of the COVID-19 vaccine."
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “People with a history of a severe allergic reaction to any component of the vaccine should not take it.”
According to the Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS), penicillin is not used during the manufacturing process of the Pfizer vaccine. However, they do note that the Pfizer vaccine contains PEG, “a known allergen commonly found in medicines and also in household goods and cosmetics.” They advise anyone with a known allergy to PEG to take the AstraZeneca vaccine instead, because it does not contain any PEG.
The WHO says that other groups of people who should not take the Pfizer vaccine include pregnant women and children.
