Safety of Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines Among Adults with Experience of Allergies to Food or Medicines

The global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), commonly known as COVID-19, poses significant risk to human health worldwide. The primary strategy for controlling the disease is through vaccination. However, there is an urgent need to establish confidence in the safety of global vaccination efforts, particularly among populations with allergies, as evidence on the adverse effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in this group remains limited. To address this gap, our study aimed to evaluate the safety of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in individuals with food and/or drug allergies. The study enrolled a total of 150 participants, who were subjected to a series of questionnaires to evaluate local and systemic reactions within 7 days after each dose. The results revealed that the most prevalent adverse reactions were pain at the injection site (30%) and fatigue (16%) following the initial vaccination. Notably, the incidence of both local and systemic adverse reactions decreased after the second vaccination, which was unexpected. The food allergy and drug allergy subgroups exhibited a similar phenomenon. Furthermore, the incidence of adverse events observed in this study was consistent with the range reported in Phase III clinical trials of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Our findings suggest that individuals with pre-existing food and/or drug allergies have a favorable safety profile when receiving inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.