Why a woman who knew she was at risk of an allergic reaction got the COVID-19 vaccine anyway

Image: Twitter / Katherine Firkin

A Melbourne journalist living in New York has suffered an anaphylactic reaction after being injected with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Ms Firkin, who has a history of allergic reactions, said she knew she would be at risk, but she got vaccinated anyway.

“I’m one of those rare people that doesn’t respond well to a lot of medications. My reactions are so extreme that I can’t even take things like Nurofen,” she told Neil Mitchell.

“I knew this was going to be a little bit of a challenge for me.

“Within about a minute … I knew something was wrong. It felt like a clamp on my chest, like I was getting slowly squeezed from the inside.”

Ms Firkin consulted doctors before receiving the first dose of the vaccine, and says she doesn’t regret having the jab, despite suffering an anaphylactic reaction.

“I don’t regret it,” she said.

“At the moment I’m living and working in New York. I’m working in the media, I’m on the frontline, I’m dealing with people, I’m in hospital settings, I’m out and about, it’s quite risky as far as the potential for me to contract it.

“I’m also conscious that some people can’t get vaccine for various reasons and the more of us that get the vaccine, we’re actually helping to protect those people.”

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Covid jab #1. Unfortunately I had an anaphylactic response (medical history). But the doctors were incredible and I was stabilized within minutes. If you have any medical history I recommend going to a full-service site with emergency workers on hand. To me it’s still worth it. pic.twitter.com/TvDQS3Mzp3

— Katherine Firkin (@KatherineFirkin) March 4, 2021