A new study published in the journal Vaccines offers encouraging news for people with systemic mastocytosis (SM) who may still have concerns about COVID-19 vaccination. The research examined how well people with strong allergy histories responded to the vaccines and found reassuring safety patterns even in those undergoing allergen-specific immunotherapy.
Although the study didn’t specifically examine SM, its findings add to growing evidence that vaccination is generally safe for people with conditions like SM that involve hypersensitive immune responses.
Researchers followed 57 adults with moderate to severe allergies, many of whom were receiving regular allergy shots for environmental or insect venom allergies. About 93% of the study participants received COVID-19 vaccines, many receiving multiple doses. More than half reported some reaction after vaccination, but almost all of these reactions were mild, non-specific symptoms like fatigue, muscle aches, fever or injection site discomfort.
One individual experienced mild swelling of the lips and hands, which resolved without serious complications. No severe allergic or anaphylactic reactions occurred.
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Importantly, the researchers found no link between people’s baseline allergy test results, such as total IgE or tryptase levels, and their risk of reaction. People who took antihistamines before vaccination tended to report fewer mild side effects.
The study authors concluded that COVID-19 vaccines appear broadly safe and well tolerated in this high-risk allergy group, with serious allergic reactions being extremely rare. They cautioned, however, that their work is exploratory, with a small sample size, and noted that many responses were gathered retrospectively, relying on patient recall and self-reporting.
The researchers stressed the need for larger, prospective studies to confirm these findings. “This study can contribute to future studies on this aspect and provide clinical guidance for patients regarding future upcoming (mRNA) vaccines,” they wrote.
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