Will checking this box disqualify covid vaccine?

March 4, 2021 6:10 PM

My wife has a qualifying condition and was extremely lucky to grab a vaccine appointment this Sunday. However, she has an allergy skin test tomorrow and is nervous that may disqualify her from getting the shot.

The Informed Consent for Vaccination form Section B begins with the usual yes/no questions of do you feel sick, have you been diagnosed with covid last 2 weeks (both are nos and she has 100% never tested positive or shown any symptoms while locked down the last year). But the impression you get from the beginning is answering no to any of these may be a red flag preventing you from getting the vaccine that day.

7) Have you received any vaccinations or skin tests the past eight weeks? If yes, please list:

She has an every 2 year allergy skin test tomorrow morning that cannot be rescheduled. But is now worried that checking yes and saying "allergy skin test" will mean they tell her no. My hope is that this is a precaution they're noting, and with the explanation perhaps they'll make sure she stays for extra time, but is there any reason to think this would disqualify her? Googling allergy skin test before covid shot is getting me nowhere.

(For further data points: She has mild cat allergies amongst a handful of other small things and when she goes for her 1-2 weekly shots, they make her stay 20 min and she's yet to have a reaction. It sounds like in general most allergies are low risk for the vaccine, not worried about adverse reactions.)

She is planning to ask her allergist about risk of vaccine 2 days after the skin test, so we'll know after then if we should even proceed. But assuming that is okay, should she be worried? This is at a Walgreens in Illinois. Thank you.

posted by kittysockpuppet to Health & Fitness (9 answers total)

When I got mine I was asked if I had any serious allergic reactions (history of anaphylaxis in particular) and my allergies but I definately wasn't screened if I had any skin tests. (I was asked about reactions to previous vaccines, but I don't think I was asked when those vaccines were adminstered). I was also screened for covid symptoms.

I'm not sure if the data has changed, but I don't think this is a recommended screening question, but it might be company policy to ask. Worth asking your doctor.
posted by AlexiaSky at 6:22 PM on March 4, 2021

IANAD - but I assume the skin test part of the question is to ensure that any reactions your wife has to the skin test are not mistaken for a reaction to the vaccine. More of a "cover every possibility" type of question than something that will prevent them from giving her the shot. They are very interested in tracking any possible reaction to these shots. If her allergist gives the okay, that would be enough for me.
posted by soelo at 6:34 PM on March 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

Not 100 percent sure on the skin test but they will likely make her stay for 30 minutes to an hour to check for side effects given her allergic history (I have moderate hay fever and a fish allergy and had to stay 30 minutes; no bad side effects from the first shot).
posted by eleanna at 7:23 PM on March 4, 2021

A recent New York Times article: A Few People Report Delayed Skin Reactions to the Covid Vaccine.
posted by vegartanipla at 8:13 PM on March 4, 2021 [3 favorites]

I don’t know about the skin tests, but I had to skip my regular allergy shot the week I got the first dose. My allergist said to wait at least five days in between.
posted by nat at 8:15 PM on March 4, 2021 [1 favorite]

For what its worth my cousin got the vaccine and a week later there was a skin reaction including itchiness at the injection site which cleared up with some OTC anti-histamines such as benadryl.
posted by Mr. Papagiorgio at 10:23 PM on March 4, 2021

Not sure if this helps, but I had a sort of similar situation with my mom and dad when I took my them to get their shots. We gave them the informed consent form prior to the first shot with no issues, and after getting home that afternoon, my dad immediately downloaded (and completed) a new copy of the form, knowing that it would again be required for his second shot. Turns out that in filling out the new form, he checked YES to "Have you had any vaccine within the past 14 days?" (because that was technically true when he filled out the form). I didn't realize he'd done this until we showed up for his second dose and he handed me his form. I explained to the nice lady what he'd done, and she told me that he would need to change (and initial) the "YES" to a "NO" or they wouldn't be able to give him the second dose.
posted by richmondparker at 9:22 AM on March 5, 2021

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for the replies- the allergist cleared her so I assume she will be fine. It appears that overall they are not checking for things like that to disqualify people so hopefully everything will be ok- hoping to avoid the disappointment of showing up and being told no and it sounds like we'll be good. (We could always call the pharmacy but I'm guessing they're very busy and not trying to interrupt their work.)
posted by kittysockpuppet at 10:09 AM on March 5, 2021

Did you get anything written from the allergist that it was OK? It may be too late in the day but it might help dealing with the front line clerk who is just following procedure if your wife has something indicating the the allergist did not think the testing was a contraindication for getting the vaccine.
posted by metahawk at 12:21 PM on March 5, 2021