Team News Riveting
90-year-old Margaret Keenan was the first person to receive the Pfizer Covid jab in Britain and the order in which people will be offered the vaccine is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
But there are three groups of people who had been denied the jab. They include people with severe allergies, pregnant women and children under 16.
People with a history of life-threatening allergic reactions to a vaccine or food should not get the Pfizer Covid-19 jab, the head of the UK’s medicines regulator said.
The directive came after two NHS staff members who received the jab on Tuesday had allergic reactions after being given the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
The health workers, who are understood to both have a history of severe allergic reactions, were among thousands to receive the vaccine on the first day of the Covid-19 mass vaccination programme.
Besides, pregnant women are being advised to wait until they’ve had their baby to get the COVID jab. Those who are trying to get pregnant, should also wait for two months after having the second dose before getting pregnant, according to the NHS.
New mums should also wait until they have finished breastfeeding before having the jab, health officials advise.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises that only those children at very high risk of exposure or serious outcomes – such as older children with severe neuro-disabilities that require residential care – should be offered vaccination.
