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Penn State Health study offers cash to people who fear severe COVID-19 vaccine reaction

Patriot-News - 6/1/2021

Penn State Health is looking for people with a history of severe allergic reactions who aren’t yet vaccinated against COVID-19.

They can participate in a study intended to help find ways to predict who will have a severe allergic and devise ways to prevent it.

Doctors realize people with a history of severe allergic reactions to things such as bee stings, certain foods or latex have extra reason to be hesitant about COVID-19 vaccination.

So are providing financial rewards: coverage of travel and hotel expenses and payments of $50 per shot, with the payment expected to soon rise to $100 per shot, said Dr. Timothy Craig, an allergy, asthma and immunology specialist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Everyone will receive the two shots required for full vaccination with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and those in a placebo group will receive three shots.

About 10 in one million people who receive COVID-19 vaccine develop a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. That’s why people have to wait and be observed for 15 minutes following a shot.

Craig didn’t have figures for the odds of death from anaphylaxis following COVID-19 vaccine, but said it’s rare.

Study participants will be watched for 90 minutes. Moreover, they will be watched by people who are experienced in dealing with such reactions and who have immediate access to treatments including epinephrine, the standard treatment for anaphylaxis.

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Center is among a group of hospitals around the country participating in the study, which is being funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Participants will receive a total of either two or three shots, spread out over several weeks. The people who receive three are those who received a placebo, with the placebo followed by an actual dose so that all study participants end up fully vaccinated.

The study will involve only two vaccine brands, Pfizer and Moderna.

For more information visit StudyFinder, call 717-531-4513 or go to ClinicalTrials.gov and search NCT04761822.

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