British health authorities on Wednesday advised against Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine for people who have had severe allergic reactions in the past.

Two people reacted badly to the first injections.

In the UK, the vaccination campaign began on Tuesday.

British health authorities on Wednesday advised against inoculating Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine against the new coronavirus to people who have had "significant allergic reactions" in the past, two people having reacted badly to the first injections.

The United Kingdom was the first country to authorize the vaccine and began a massive vaccination campaign on Tuesday, aimed so far at caregivers and the elderly.

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Two people with very severe allergies

"Two people who had serious allergic reactions reacted badly," said Stephen Powis, National Health Service (NHS) medical director for England.

"Both are recovering well."

These two people are prone to allergies to the point of always carrying adrenaline with them.

Therefore, the UK medicines agency, MHRA, has issued a recommendation not to vaccinate "anyone with a history of a significant allergic reaction to vaccines, drugs or food (such as anaphylactic reactions or those to who was advised to wear an epinephrine injector) ".

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40 million doses ordered by the government

Some 800,000 doses of this vaccine out of the 40 million ordered by the government will be administered initially.

Despite the speed to put it on the market, "we have not cut back" on safety, had assured Tuesday the boss of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, during a virtual round table in Geneva.

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The success of the vaccination promises to be crucial for the government of Boris Johnson, much criticized for its management of the pandemic and facing the anger of some elected officials at the restrictions imposed in much of the country, with an enormous economic and social cost .

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"Ethical, political and clinical choices"

Asked by a parliamentary committee, the chief medical officer for England, Chris Whitty, estimated Wednesday that "three or four vaccines" should be available by mid-2021 in the United Kingdom.

According to him, there will be "important ethical, political but also clinical choices" to be made to determine who will have access to it, after the 20 million priority people, including caregivers and the most vulnerable, have been vaccinated. that the authorities hope to have achieved by the spring.

Before the same commission, the director of the MHRA, June Raine, indicated that the body was evaluating "intensively and with great scientific rigor" the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the British University of Oxford .

The latter became the first Tuesday to see its efficacy results validated by the leading scientific journal The Lancet, which confirms its effectiveness at 70% on average.

Bars and restaurants still closed in part of the country

In the meantime, said Chris Whitty, it is "premature" to lift the restrictions in place, which include closing pubs and restaurants in parts of the country or banning different households from meeting indoors.

"We will not have enough protection during the next three months", particularly delicate in the middle of winter, he said, stressing that the gradual lifting of the restrictions would be "a political decision guided by science".