Following reports of two people suffering serious reactions after getting Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine in the U.K., a Walgreens official is weighing in on the company’s plans.
There were reports this week of two NHS staffers, who have significant allergies, reacted after getting Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine — they have since recovered following treatment.
In response, Britain’s Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency advised people who have significant allergic reactions to a vaccine, food or medicine, to not get the vaccine yet. The reports of the two reactions is being investigated and Pfizer/BioNTech are working with the investigators, according to the Associated Press.
Walgreens Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kevin Ban touched on the reports during an interview Friday on NBC News.
“What I would say is that there were touchpoints along the way to make sure that not only that the vaccine was effective, but more importantly, that it’s safe,” Ban said.
Ban went on to note that there are side-effects to the COVID-19 vaccine, such as a headache or a fever. He added that those side-effects are “treatable with Tylenol” and will last a day or two.
He said that a person’s body may “get symptoms” of the virus after getting the vaccine, but “that’s because your body is reacting… it’s being tricked into thinking that it actually has the virus, it very quickly figures out that it doesn’t, but you may manifest symptoms.”
The Walgreens chief medical officer then made a note, “We expect these types of reactions, but we also train our pharmacists so that if there is a severe reaction we have protocols in place, so that they know how to respond.”
“If there are any problems, we handle it immediately,” Ban added.
Watch the video below:
.@Walgreens CMO Dr. Kevin Ban reacts to questions over Pfizer vaccine safety after reports of rare allergic reactions in the U.K.
“We train our pharmacists so that if there is a severe reaction we have protocols in place, so that they know how to respond.” pic.twitter.com/duQAWlDxt8
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 11, 2020
Ban also weighed on if Americans will have to pay anything out of pocket at Walgreens to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Anyone who is eligible and who receives the vaccine will not have to pay for it,” he said, noting the federal government “has purchased these vaccines.”
Will Americans have to pay anything out of pocket if they receive a coronavirus vaccination?
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 11, 2020
"Anyone who is eligible and who receives the vaccine will not have to pay for it." — Dr. Kevin Ban, @Walgreens CMO. pic.twitter.com/SICavwocxv
"We're working very hard to make sure the vaccine is distributed and administered safely, but also that people have the facts to make a decision so that they'll decide to get vaccinated." — @Walgreens CMO Dr. Kevin Ban pic.twitter.com/y4BIpOZAoS
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 11, 2020
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar predicted during an interview on “Good Morning America” Friday morning that 20 million Americans could be vaccinated in the coming weeks.
“We’re looking at 20 million Americans being vaccinated just in the next coming weeks,” he said. “Up to 50 million total by the end of January and we believe we could have 100 million actual vaccination in arm by the end of February and the products just keep rolling out.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted on Friday that it is working to issue the emergency use authorization to Pfizer for its COVID-19 vaccine.
Azar said he expects the authorization to come “in the next couple days, probably.” He also said, “We could be seeing people getting vaccinated Monday, Tuesday of next week.”
The U.S. is continuing to combat the coronavirus pandemic, with over 292,000 deaths due to the virus reported. There have been 211,127 new cases per day on average over the past week. This is a 28% increase from the two weeks prior, according to The New York Times.
