Published 8 September 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1609

Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1609

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Most children with vaccine allergies can be revaccinated, US experts say

¹ New York

Children who have had allergic reactions to previous vaccinations can usually be safely revaccinated, say new guidelines developed by a multicentre US team of experts in vaccine safety.

When considering revaccinating a child, especially one who has had an immediate reaction, doctors should take a careful history and use skin testing or serum IgE testing, or both, to try to identify the cause of the reaction, advise the authors, led by Robert Wood of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Baltimore.

This is "particularly helpful in assessing risk regarding future immunisation and thereby minimising the risk for anaphylaxis," they write (Pediatrics 2008;122:e771-7, doi:10.1542/peds.2008-1002).

Allergic reactions to vaccines are rare, with estimates ranging from one in 50 000 doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine to about one in 500 000 to 1 000 000 doses in the case of most other vaccines. However, large numbers of doses are administered, especially for the commonly used vaccines, and hypersensitivity reactions occur relatively frequently, and some can be serious, the authors warn.

Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1609