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My mother is in her early eighties with asthma and severe allergies of varying sorts. Early on it sounded like she wasnt going to be eligible for the vaccine because of the potential side effects. Im trying to figure out how we understand if she is eligible to take the vaccine. I dont think we should rely on her primary care physician to provide guidance. How do we go about understanding if she can take it or not?
The only contraindication to vaccination is a severe (anaphylaxis-like) reaction to a known component of the vaccine. Because the vaccine ingredients are very long scientific named things that are not at all commonly known, it is not expected that a person would be able to identify one of those components. So, for persons who have had prior anaphylaxis to other (non-vaccine) antigens we believe there is some risk for anaphylaxis, so we ask that these persons remain at the vaccine clinic for 30 minutes after vaccination.
The scenario below appears to be a situation where this person may have had severe allergies, but it is not clear if they were anaphylaxis reactions. Nonetheless, I would consider vaccination and close observation for 30 minutes after vaccination.
