Vaccines (Apr 2023)

Desensitization Protocols for Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Patients with High Risk of Allergic Reactions

  • Maria Rita Messina,
  • Carlotta Crisciotti,
  • Laura Pellegrini,
  • Emanuele Nappi,
  • Francesca Racca,
  • Giovanni Costanzo,
  • Lorenzo Del Moro,
  • Sebastian Ferri,
  • Francesca Puggioni,
  • Giorgio Walter Canonica,
  • Enrico Heffler,
  • Giovanni Paoletti

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11050910
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 5
p. 910

Abstract

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Vaccines for SAR-CoV-2 are the most effective preventive treatment able to reduce the risk of contracting the infection and experiencing worse outcomes whenever the infection is contracted. Despite their rarity, hypersensitivity reactions to the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine have been described and could become the reason not to complete the vaccination. Desensitization protocols for other vaccines have been described and validated, while the use of this approach for anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is still anecdotal. We herein describe our experience with 30 patients with previous allergic reactions to anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines or to any of their excipients, proving that they are effective and safe; only two patients experienced hypersensitivity reaction symptoms during the desensitization procedure. Moreover, in this article, we propose desensitization protocols for the most common anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

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