UK : People with Severe Allergy Shouldn’t Get Pfizer Vaccine

People with a significant history of allergies should not receive Pfizer Inc.  (NYSE:PFE) and  BioNTech SE’s (NASDAQ:BNTX) Covid-19 vaccine. This was a statement from the U.K.’s National Health Service, after two people experienced reactions from the shots.

The warning came on Wednesday, a day after the U.K. began a Covid vaccination program. It became the first western nation to do so.  Last week, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

A statement said, as is common with new vaccines the MHRA have advised on a precautionary basis. That those with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination. This was stated by Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England.

Chief executive of the MHRA, June Raine, said her team looked at two case reports of allergic reactions on Tuesday evening. The NHS said in a statement, both of the people, staff members of the National Health Service, are recovering well.

Raine told a panel of lawmakers on Wednesday that they know from the very extensive clinical trials that this wasn’t a feature. And that if they need to strengthen their advice. Now that they’ve had this experience in the vulnerable populations, they get that advice to the field immediately. 

The vaccine makers Pfizer and BioNTech said they’re supporting the MHRA in its investigation.

The companies said in a statement, that in the pivotal phase 3 clinical trial, this vaccine was generally well tolerated. That is with no serious safety concerns reported by the independent data monitoring committee.

Stocks on the Move

Meanwhile, India stocks ended higher after the close on Wednesday.  Leading shares higher were gains in the Banking, Real Estate and IT sectors. 

Stock market news reports, at the close in NSE, the Nifty 50 added 1.02% to hit a new all time high. The BSE Sensex 30 index added 1.09%.

The outperformers of the session on the Nifty 50 were UPL Ltd (NS:UPLL). They rose 4.59% or 21.70 points to trade at 494.50 at the close.

Meanwhile, Asian Paints Ltd. (NS:ASPN) added 3.65% or 89.10 points to end at 2528.00.  Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (NS:IOC) rose 3.29% or 3.00 points to 94.05 in late trade.

The outperformers on the BSE Sensex 30 were Asian Paints Ltd. (BO:ASPN). They rose 3.37% to 2521.15. 

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. (BO:KTKM) was up 2.61% to settle at 1881.80. Moreover, HDFC Bank Ltd (BO:HDBK) gained 2.42% to close at 1409.55.