Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug;152(2):309-325.
doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2023.05.019. Epub 2023 Jun 7.

Updated guidance regarding the risk of allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines and recommended evaluation and management: A GRADE assessment and international consensus approach

Matthew Greenhawt  1 Timothy E Dribin  2 Elissa M Abrams  3 Marcus Shaker  4 Derek K Chu  5 David B K Golden  6 Cem Akin  7 Akterini Anagnostou  8 Faisal ALMuhizi  9 Waleed Alqurashi  10 Peter Arkwright  11 James L Baldwin  7 Aleena Banerji  12 Philippe Bégin  13 Moshe Ben-Shoshan  14 Jonathan Bernstein  15 Theresa A Bingemann  16 Carsten Bindslev-Jensen  17 Kim Blumenthal  12 Aideen Byrne  18 Julia Cahill  19 Scott Cameron  20 Dianne Campbell  21 Ronna Campbell  22 Michael Cavender  23 Edmond S Chan  24 Sharon Chinthrajah  25 Pasquale Comberiati  26 Jacqueline J Eastman  27 Anne K Ellis  28 David M Fleischer  29 Adam Fox  30 Pamela A Frischmeyer-Guerrerio  31 Remi Gagnon  32 Lene H Garvey  33 Mitchell H Grayson  34 Ghislaine Annie Clarisse Isabwe  14 Nicholas Hartog  27 David Hendron  35 Caroline C Horner  36 Johnathan O'B Hourihane  37 Edward Iglesia  38 Manstein Kan  39 Blanka Kaplan  40 Constance H Katelaris  41 Harold Kim  42 John M Kelso  43 David A Khan  44 David Lang  45 Dennis Ledford  46 Michael Levin  47 Jay A Lieberman  48 Richard Loh  49 Douglas P Mack  50 Bruce Mazer  14 Ketan Mody  51 Gisele Mosnaim  52 Daniel Munblit  53 S Shahzad Mustafa  54 Anil Nanda  55 Richard Nathan  56 John Oppenheimer  57 Iris M Otani  58 Miguel Park  59 Ruby Pawankar  60 Kirsten P Perrett  61 Jonny Peter  62 Elizabeth J Phillips  63 Matthieu Picard  64 Mitchell Pitlick  59 Allison Ramsey  54 Trine Holm Rasmussen  17 Melinda M Rathkopf  65 Hari Reddy  66 Kara Robertson  67 Pablo Rodriguez Del Rio  68 Stephen Sample  69 Ajay Sheshadri  70 Javed Sheik  71 Sayantani B Sindher  25 Jonathan M Spergel  72 Cosby A Stone  38 David Stukus  34 Mimi L K Tang  73 James M Tracy  74 Paul J Turner  75 Timothy K Vander Leek  76 Dana V Wallace  77 Julie Wang  78 Susan Wasserman  79 David Weldon  80 Anna R Wolfson  12 Margitta Worm  81 Mona-Rita Yacoub  82
Affiliations
Review

Updated guidance regarding the risk of allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines and recommended evaluation and management: A GRADE assessment and international consensus approach

Matthew Greenhawt et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023 Aug.

Erratum in

  • Corrigendum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2024 Feb;153(2):538. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2023.11.020. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2024. PMID: 38325918 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

This guidance updates 2021 GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) recommendations regarding immediate allergic reactions following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and addresses revaccinating individuals with first-dose allergic reactions and allergy testing to determine revaccination outcomes. Recent meta-analyses assessed the incidence of severe allergic reactions to initial COVID-19 vaccination, risk of mRNA-COVID-19 revaccination after an initial reaction, and diagnostic accuracy of COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine excipient testing in predicting reactions. GRADE methods informed rating the certainty of evidence and strength of recommendations. A modified Delphi panel consisting of experts in allergy, anaphylaxis, vaccinology, infectious diseases, emergency medicine, and primary care from Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States formed the recommendations. We recommend vaccination for persons without COVID-19 vaccine excipient allergy and revaccination after a prior immediate allergic reaction. We suggest against >15-minute postvaccination observation. We recommend against mRNA vaccine or excipient skin testing to predict outcomes. We suggest revaccination of persons with an immediate allergic reaction to the mRNA vaccine or excipients be performed by a person with vaccine allergy expertise in a properly equipped setting. We suggest against premedication, split-dosing, or special precautions because of a comorbid allergic history.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; allergic reactions; anaphylaxis; mRNA COVID-19 vaccine; polyethylene glycol; polysorbate 80; repeat allergic reactions; skin testing; vaccination.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types