I have allergies to certain medications. Is it possible to receive the vaccine for COVID-19 (Pfizer or Moderna)

Question

Major allergies: (Penicillin, Bactrim and 'Lax-a-day' it seems) and milder reactions to other medications. Pfizer or Moderna given my age (26) Correction: It is not lax-a-day but Emolax . Thank you so much for the response, For Emolax more specifically, after taking it I had had a lot of 'red patches' and itching, stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhea (at the same time the drug acts on digestion so I don't know how much of this can be normal or not). However, I hadn't had any throat swelling or breathing problems like I've had in the past in reaction to penicillin and I just stopped taking Emolax. Note, I had taken Lax-a-day a few years ago (before the reaction to Emolax) and had no skin problems but stopped taking it as it seemed to make my digestive problems worse or at least not help. I haven't taken it again since. I'm a little bothered as I had a reaction to Emolax, but still not as intense as the one for penicillin. I want to get the vaccine but not at the cost of having an allergic reaction.

Alexandre Chagnon · Accepted Answer

Hello Madam, According to the Quebec Immunization Protocol, the only contraindication to receiving the COVID-19 vaccines is an anaphylactic reaction to one of their components. In fact, the currently available vaccines contain no food or animal protein, no antibiotics, no preservatives and no latex. Here is a list of ingredients in licensed COVID-19 vaccines that have been associated with allergic reactions in other products: Pfizer BioNTech: polyethylene glycol (PEG) Moderna: polyethylene glycol (PEG) and tromethamine (trometamol or Tris) AstraZeneca: polysorbate 80 Indeed, there is PEG in Lax-A-Day and Emolax. What was your allergic reaction specifically to Emolax? In general, anaphylaxis, i.e., a severe allergy to the Emolax product would be a contraindication to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine which contains PEG. Do not hesitate to contact me with any additional questions. Happy day, Kamilia Idir, Pharmacy Intern. Supervised by Alexandre Chagnon, pharmacist. Yes, you can get vaccinated without any problem with a history of such a reaction! Happy day :) Alexandre Chagnon, pharmacist