In December 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for two mRNA vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, for its use in the prevention of COVID 19 infections. As the vaccine rollout continues to expand, patients, especially those with allergies, are concerned about whether they should be getting the vaccines and any precautions that should be taken.
For decades there were few options for patients concerning treating food allergies other than allergen avoidance and carrying an epinephrine auto- injector for treatment of allergic reactions related to accidental exposure. Recently, there have been breakthroughs in therapies in the form of oral immunotherapy (OIT) that may potentially change one’s sensitivity to food allergen.
Preliminary data published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(20)30551-0/abstract) may provide a reason why patients with respiratory allergy and asthma may not experience the severe complications COVID 19 to a large degree compared to patients with other known risk factors such as smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure.
A recent vote by an FDA advisory committee is recommending eventual FDA approval of Palforzia, a novel therapy that may be indicated for patients between 4 and 17 years with peanut allergies.
As research into eczema advances, the more allergists understand its association with other allergic diseases. Scientists have noted a phenomenon coined the “atopic march”, which is an observed progression where infants who have eczema may develop food allergies, asthma and environmental allergies later in life.
