Allergy To Vaccines As Rare As Being Hit By A Car'

Medical experts say people should not be afraid of getting inoculated against Covid-19, suggesting that severe allergic reactions to vaccines are as rare as getting hit by a car.

Allergists from two concern groups said on Tuesday said fears of allergy are overblown and should not deter people from getting vaccinated.

Speaking at a press conference, the Allergy Association and the Institute of Allergy said severe allergic reactions have been reported following Covid-19 vaccinations in other countries and drug substances known as excipients – which are often added into vaccines as preservatives and stabilisers – are suspected to be the cause.

"There is no real medical reason to avoid a vaccine purely on such a rare occurrence of possible excipient allergy... It's always been here, and it's a bit blown up," Dr Philip Li from the Allergy Association said.

Professor Gary Wong from the Institute of Allergy said that the benefits of getting a jab far outweigh the risks.

“Whenever you cross the road, there is a chance you are going to be hit by a car, isn’t it? But the chance is so small. Is it because you worry that you are going to be hit by a car, in your whole life, you are not going to walk across the street?” he asked.

Wong added that allergic reactions are commonly seen, whether they are related to drugs, food or other types of vaccines.

Still, the two groups said pharmaceutical companies should be required to list all excipients with their vaccines.

Vaccine safety and efficacy have become the talk of the town since the government announced that it has secured vaccines produced by mainland firm Sinovac, and another batch by German company BioNtech and mainland firm Fosun.

It's also in talks to procure a third batch jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

The first batch of vaccines from Sinovac is expected to arrive as early as next month.