A health care provider receives the coronavirus vaccine in Mexico City.Marco Ugarte / AP
Mexico has presented the first case of a serious reaction due to the application of the coronavirus vaccine.
A 32-year-old doctor in the state of Coahuila suffered symptoms of encephalomyelitis about 30 minutes after receiving the dose of the drug from Pfizer and BioNTech, according to the Ministry of Health.
The health worker suffered an episode of seizures and had skin rashes, decreased muscle strength and difficulty breathing.
The woman was transferred to the intensive care unit where she is treated for brain inflammation.
This is the first known case of encephalitis in Mexico derived from the administration of the antigen.
The doctor received the vaccine on December 30 at a hospital of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in the city of Monclova (Coahuila), due to the severity of her symptoms she was transferred to a specialized sanatorium in the State of Nuevo León.
The Ministry of Health points out that the health company had a history of allergy to trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic used mainly for urinary tract infections.
"Intensive specialized treatment based on steroids and anticonvulsants will continue to reduce the risk of sequelae," explained the Mexican Government about the treatment of the patient who is seriously ill.
Mexico began the application of the coronavirus vaccine on December 24 with a first shipment from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
The Government placed the first group to receive the antigen to health workers who care for coronavirus patients.
The IMSS reported Wednesday that of the nearly 20,000 healthcare workers who were vaccinated, about 23 had mild adverse allergic reactions with symptoms such as dizziness and palpitations.
Only one person had difficulty breathing after receiving the dose, but none of these episodes required hospitalization of the antigen recipients.
In January, it is estimated that 1.4 million doses of Pfizer will arrive in the country that will serve to give a second dose to health workers who have already been vaccinated.
Mexico estimates that it will immunize 750,000 health workers and at the end of the month it will start with the elderly.
So far, some 1.4 million people have been infected with covid and 126,500 have died from the disease, according to official data.
According to the Ministry of Health, until now there were no known cases of encephalitis related to the US firm's drug.
During Pfizer's clinical trials, about 20,000 people received the antigen in its experimental stage and only 0.6% suffered serious adverse allergic reactions.
In the United Kingdom, the first country to start vaccination, health authorities warned that some patients with a history of allergies to drugs, other vaccines and foods could suffer adverse reactions, and asked that this group of people avoid receiving the vaccine, for now .
