Safety of administration of BNT162b2 mRNA (Pfizer-BioNTech) COVID-19 vaccine in youths and young adults with a history of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and allergy to PEG-asparaginase

Catherine Mark; Sumit Gupta; Angela Punnett; Julia Upton; Julia Orkin; Adelle Atkinson; Lindsay Clarke; Alice Heisey; Christine McGovern; Sarah Alexander

doi:10.1002/pbc.29295

Safety of administration of BNT162b2 mRNA (Pfizer-BioNTech) COVID-19 vaccine in youths and young adults with a history of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and allergy to PEG-asparaginase

Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2021 Nov;68(11):e29295. doi: 10.1002/pbc.29295. Epub 2021 Aug 16.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Haematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
² Division of Immunology/Allergy, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
³ Paediatric Medicine Division, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Corporate Strategy & Performance, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Department of Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

Vaccinationis a critical tool in the prevention of COVID-19 infection for individuals and for communities. The mRNA vaccines contain polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a stabilizer. Currently, in North America, only the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA vaccine is approved for individuals aged 12-17. Most patients treated with contemporary regimens for acute lymphoblastic leukemia receive PEG-asparaginase (PEG-ASNase) and 10%-30% will develop allergic reactions. Optimizing access and safety for vaccine administration for these patients is critical. This report describes a process developed to support COVID vaccination in a cohort of adolescents and young adults with a history of PEG-ASNase allergy.

Keywords: COVID; PEG-asparaginase; allergy; vaccine.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Antineoplastic Agents / adverse effects*
Asparaginase / adverse effects*
BNT162 Vaccine
COVID-19 / complications
COVID-19 / prevention & control*
COVID-19 Vaccines / administration & dosage
COVID-19 Vaccines / adverse effects
COVID-19 Vaccines / therapeutic use*
Child
Drug Hypersensitivity / complications*
Drug Hypersensitivity / etiology
Humans
Polyethylene Glycols / adverse effects*
Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / complications*
Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / drug therapy
Young Adult

Substances

Antineoplastic Agents
COVID-19 Vaccines
Polyethylene Glycols
pegaspargase
Asparaginase
BNT162 Vaccine