The United Kingdom’s (UK) medicine regulator has advised people with allergies do not get Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine against coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).

This came following reported adverse reactions from two people during the first day of the rollout.

“As is common with new vaccines the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) [had] advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination, after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday,” said National Health Service medical director Stephen Powis.

“Both are recovering well,” he underscored.

The MHRA said it would seek further information regarding the matter while Pfizer and BioNTech expressed support for the investigation.

Pfizer has said earlier that people with a history of severe adverse allergic reactions were excluded from their last-stage trial which was reflected in the emergency approval protocol of MHRA.

Now, the new MHRA guidance sent out to health professionals said that a much broader segment should not take the vaccine.

“Any person with a history of a significant allergic reaction to a vaccine, medicine or food (such as the previous history of anaphylactoid reaction or those who have been advised to carry an adrenaline autoinjector) should not receive the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine,” it said, adding that resuscitation facilities should be available for all vaccinations.

The UK late last month agreed to buy 350 million doses of vaccine from different manufacturers as it prepares to vaccinate as many as 67 million people as possible.

On November 29, Britain’s Department of Health said it had increased its order for a vaccine developed by American pharmaceutical giant Moderna to seven million doses from five million doses originally. The total would be enough to give jabs to 3.5 million people.

On Tuesday, the UK started mass vaccinating its population beginning with vulnerable people such as front-liners and the elderly.

Meanwhile, the United States has approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, saying the vaccine’s safety and efficacy rate met its expectations for authorization.

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