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Peeps w/ vaccine knowledge: Grandma fears COVID vax due to reaction to "horse serum" tetanus shot test years ago


MercyA
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My grandma has consistently refused to get the COVID-19 vaccination because she had an anaphylactic reaction to what she calls "horse serum" 60 years ago. She says she was injected with horse serum to see if she would have an allergic reaction to a tetanus shot. She did indeed have a bad reaction--trouble breathing--and my grandpa had to rush her to the hospital where the doctor was waiting at the curb with the equivalent of an epipen.  

She gets the flu shot every year and pneumonia shots as well with no problems.

My dad has asked me to find some concrete information to ease her concerns about this issue.

Does anyone know what she is referring to or how we could reassure her?

Edited by MercyA
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I wonder if she is referring to a preservative allergy.  I have it and am very careful with vaccines and injected medications.  If she decides to get it, here is the protocol for when I get a vaccine or injected medication-  I have to stay in the office for 20 minutes being monitored.  If possible incase of a delayed reaction-  I get the vial of the injected to carry with me incase if a reaction.  My doctors write down all the details of the injection and I carry it with me.  The last reaction was horrible and required lots of Benadryl, steroids and more “fun” than I want to have again so this is what we do. 

Edited by itsheresomewhere
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See if she can get the shot from a paramedic. I had my first one done at a clinic by a paramedic because of past bad reactions, because that way they could stabilize and transport right then (and are very used to dealing with anaphylaxis).  That wouldn't reassure her that she won't have a reaction, but might reassure her that if anything does go wrong, they'd be ready.  They can also do a longer observation period. 

 

FWIW, I've had bad reactions to the DPT, and get them separated out (in my case, the D seems to be the issue), but had no problems with the Pfizer COVID vaccine. 

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Apparently horses were once used in the making of diphtheria vaccines antitoxins, but are no longer. Perhaps this is what she is referring to:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/08/how-horses-helped-cure-diphtheria.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/health/10hors.html

ETA: Sorry, I didn't read very closely. It was diphtheria antitoxins, not vaccines.

Edited by strawberries
Correcting antitoxin vs vaccine
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You can find the ingredients for the vaccines easily online. 

https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/HealthU/2021/01/11/a-simple-breakdown-of-the-ingredients-in-the-covid-vaccines/

They do not contain animal ingredients: https://www.pcrm.org/news/good-science-digest/covid-19-vaccines-safety-and-efficacy

 

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25 minutes ago, MercyA said:

Okay. My grandma has consistently refused to get the COVID-19 vaccination because she had an anaphylactic reaction to what she calls "horse serum" 60 years ago. She says she was injected with "horse serum" to see if she would have an allergic reaction to a tetanus shot. She did indeed have a bad reaction--trouble breathing--and my grandpa had to rush her to the hospital where the doctor was waiting at the curb with the equivalent of an epi-pen.  

She gets the flu shot every year and pneumonia shots as well. 🤷‍♀️

She is tired of staying home. My dad has tried to convince to her to get the vaccination. He has tasked me with finding out concrete information to give her to reassure her that she will not react to the COVID vax the same way she did to the test-for-tetanus shot (?). 

Does anyone know what she is referring to or how we could reassure her?

Actually, I do know that history. Let me see if I can dig up links to share with you.

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7 minutes ago, strawberries said:

Apparently horses were once used in the making of diphtheria vaccines, but are no longer. Perhaps this is what she is referring to:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/08/how-horses-helped-cure-diphtheria.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/health/10hors.html

 

Yes, I was going to post the same.  It looks like she was probably being tested for sensitivity to the antitoxin for diptheria (see here and here).  

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Ok, so way back in the very early days of vaccination, horses and other animals were used to produce antitoxins. https://ftp.historyofvaccines.org/multilanguage/content/horse-serum

This is typically tied to diphtheria, though.  So, if you get diphtheria today, treatment is with a horse serum.  About 5% of people have reactions to the antitoxin. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/scientists-find-way-make-diphtheria-treatment-without-injecting-horses-toxin

A vaccine is very different than an antitoxin treatment.  Let me see if I can dig up links on how vaccines are made.

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The vaccine itself is very clean. The list of ingredients is here: download

 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/mrna.html

I have reactions to vaccines. My care was different only in that I waited 30 minutes after my vaccine. A medical team was there with oxygen and epipens on hand. They watched me for 30 minutes each time, and then sent me on my way. If she is especially nervous, she can be vaccinated in a hospital setting.  But, in all seriousness, anaphylactic vaccine reactions have been really really rare....nothing like the 5% with the horse serums.

Edited by prairiewindmomma
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I wonder if this article would be helpful.  It talks about how serum reactions are very unlikely with the Covid vaccine.

https://local12.com/health/medical-edge-reports/the-covid-19-vaccine-has-low-risk-for-serum-sickness-side-effect-cincinnati

I wonder if you could also schedule the vaccine at an actual clinic, as others have mentioned.  My dh sometimes has severe reactions to things, and will often do the first try in a clinic.  He had a severe reaction to the migraine medication Imitrex, so I'm so glad he was in a clinic for that!  He had the Covid vaccine in a drug store though and thankfully had no reaction, but he's not the type to be worried about his reactions.  (I worry for him more than he does!)

 

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Diptheria shots from when she was young are TOTALLY different than current vaccines.  I see plenty of people already told you that but I thought I'd chime in too. The Pfizer shots seem to be most effective with the lowest side effects, so I'd tell her to do that one.

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I am allergic to horse serum.  I have no idea what my reaction is but my mother (an RN) always told me to make sure I listed it as an allergy and never get it.  It was used in a vaccine ( I was never told which one) when I was little.  I always list it as an allergy.  It is used in a chemotherapy drug currently, but those that are allergic to horse serum are given the rabbit version of that chemo---just an interesting FYI.  I believe it might also be used in black widow spider anti-venom, but not positive on that.  Most medical people look at me like I have 2 heads when I tell them I have an allergy to horse serum.

I got the Pfizer vaccine with no problems at all.

Hopefully my experience will reassure her a bit.

Edited by Ditto
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4 hours ago, strawberries said:

Apparently horses were once used in the making of diphtheria vaccines, but are no longer. Perhaps this is what she is referring to:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/08/how-horses-helped-cure-diphtheria.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/health/10hors.html

 

Thank you!   I bet it was the diptheria vaccine that I reacted to as a child.   I have always wondered.

4 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Ok, so way back in the very early days of vaccination, horses and other animals were used to produce antitoxins. https://ftp.historyofvaccines.org/multilanguage/content/horse-serum

This is typically tied to diphtheria, though.  So, if you get diphtheria today, treatment is with a horse serum.  About 5% of people have reactions to the antitoxin. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/scientists-find-way-make-diphtheria-treatment-without-injecting-horses-toxin

A vaccine is very different than an antitoxin treatment.  Let me see if I can dig up links on how vaccines are made.

Well this is good info to have.  Thank you.

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Thank you all so much! Sorry I didn't respond sooner. Our power was out earlier and then I had to run some errands. 

I've sent a link to this thread to my parents. I so appreciate you all sharing your experiences and links. Love you guys!

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2 minutes ago, lynn said:

Does she have a doctor she trusts and she can talk to to get reassurance?

Honestly, when you have had that kind of personal experience, logic goes out the window. 

For me, alcohol baths, not being able yo walk, and the injection site swelling up so that I have a major scar makes me nervous, regardless of all the logical facts. You just don’t want to go through that again.

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1 hour ago, lynn said:

Does she have a doctor she trusts and she can talk to to get reassurance?

She has a very good doctor (my doctor, in fact!), but is not too happy with the doctor's office at the moment. That's an idea, though. Thanks!

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