Not everybody should take a COVID-19 vaccine. Certain individuals should not take the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. According to the CDC website, they state the following:
- If you have had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) or an immediate allergic reaction—even if it was not severe—to any ingredient in an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, you should not get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.*
- If you have had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) or an immediate allergic reaction—even if it was not severe—after getting the first dose of the vaccine, you should not get another dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.*
- An immediate allergic reaction means a reaction within 4 hours of getting vaccinated, including symptoms such as hives, swelling, or wheezing (respiratory distress).
- This includes allergic reactions to polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polysorbate. Polysorbate is not an ingredient in either mRNA COVID-19 vaccine but is closely related to PEG, which is in the vaccines. People who are allergic to PEG or polysorbate should not get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
Specifically for the Moderna vaccine, people who have received facial filler procedures in the past should also avoid taking the vaccine, as serious side effects have occurred.
Disclaimer: It’s important to remember, these are experimental vaccines, so not much is known yet about any long term side effects. Unlike most vaccines that take many years for approval , these vaccines got emergency use authorization. In reality, we won’t know about the long term side-effects for many years.