After being praised for being the first country to implement the distribution of coronavirus vaccine, Great Britain is now facing another challenge in its fight against the virus that originated from China. There are reports now that people who are being administered with the vaccine from Pfizer have some allergic reactions.

The National Health Service (NHS) has confirmed that they are setting up resuscitation facilities in the vaccination centers after there were cases of anaphylactoid reactions by two healthcare workers immediately after getting the vaccine. The incidents have raised concerns that the vaccine may not be as safe as it has been initially believed.

The Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has also issued some precautions warning the public about the possible danger posed by the vaccine to those with a history of negative reaction to foods or medicines. The warning also stated that “Resuscitation facilities should be available at all times for all vaccinations. Vaccination should only be carried out in facilities where resuscitation measures are available.”

The NHS said that anaphylaxis is a “severe and potentially life-threatening reaction to a trigger such as an allergy.” Stephen Evans who is a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said, “Allergic reaction occurs with quite a number of vaccines, and perhaps even more frequently with drugs. So it is not unexpected.”

He added that “The Pfizer data showed that about 0.6% of people had some form of allergic reaction in the trial on the vaccine, but about 0.5% on placebo. So there was a genuine excess of an allergic reaction, but this was small and the true rate is not known, and there is a lot of uncertainty around that estimate.”

That may not be enough to reassure the public about the safety of the vaccine. Those who are opposed to the use of a vaccine may use the cases of adverse reactions as examples for not getting it. It may also reinforce the narrative that the development of the vaccine has been rushed.