COVID-19 Vaccines Safe for Allergies, Says Allergy Association

The Hong Kong Allergy Association yesterday (March 30) appealed to people with allergies to not fear the side effects of taking the COVID-19 vaccine, presenting studies showing that the vaccine is safe for allergies.

In an interview with 180 of its members, the association found most had received at least one dose, but only a third were triple jabbed.

"[We are] really hoping that we can boost these numbers up. We found that vaccine hesitancy is especially a problem among allergy patients in Hong Kong," said Philip Li, an executive committee member of the Allergy Association.

A specialist in immunology and allergies at the University of Hong Kong, Li said that many patients with allergies have misconceived notions about the jabs affecting allergic condition.

"They might have already had a flare up of eczema despite not having a jab, and we also inform patients it's not actually because of the jab. Imagine if you really got genuine Covid and you didn't get the protection from the jab, in fact your [allergy] symptoms might even be worse than what they are now," he said.