Men developed pus-filled lumps on their faces after having Covid vaccine

MEN developed pus-filled lumps on their faces after getting a Covid vaccine in a rare side effect.

Patients in the US had facial swelling, crusting on the cheeks and pustules after a dose of the Moderna jab.

A study looked into two men who suffered with the very rare side-effect from their first or second Covid vaccination.

Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, detailed the patient's visits to hospital.

However, while there are small risks with any vaccination, experts have agreed getting Covid jabs far outweighs any small risk of an adverse side effect.

One of the men in the report, in his 50s, sought help four days after getting his first dose of Moderna.

He said he was suffering with chills, but didn't have a fever, and had swelling and pustules on his cheeks and near his eyes.

The patient didn't have a history of allergic reactions of skin conditions, so was given antibiotics and a topical corticosteroid, before making a full recovery a week on.

He then had his second Moderna jab with no issues.

The second patient, a man in his 80s, went to hospital five days after getting his last Moderna dose.

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He reported his face swelling within 24 hours of the injection and worsening over the next few days.

The elderly man also suffered with pain, fatigue and fevers - with small pus-filled bumps on his skin and crusting on his cheeks and nose.

His facial rash cleared up in ten days, after being given two antibiotics.

The case reports, published in JAMA Dermatology, showed both men had very high levels of neutrophils - a type of white blood cell.

It is thought the vaccine caused the men's bodies to overreact, with the white blood cell counts rising and the immune system response causing a rash.

The authors wrote: "The clinical presentation of a facial rash with pustules and the shared...findings of a dense neutrophilic infiltrate..support a facial pustular neutrophilic eruption as the reaction pattern. 

"Reassuringly, this facial pustular neutrophilic eruption resolved within seven to 10 days and without serious [after effects].   

"This is consistent with evidence that most cutaneous reactions that are associated with the mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are generally self-limited and minor."

It comes after people who had the Moderna jab reported a reaction on the arm up to 11 days after having their dose.

The side effect, dubbed “Covid arm” occurred in a small number of patients in the US and has since been reported in the UK too.

Experts stressed anyone who experienced the harmless reaction should still get their second dose of the jab for the best protection against Covid.

Dr Praveen Buddiga, an immunologist in the US, said: “Your immune response is responding and in some cases, some patients have a very hyper or really aggressive immune response.

"'Covid arm' is basically a delayed type of hypersensitivity or an allergic reaction that occurs about probably seven to ten days afterward.”

There have been incidents where people have suffered a serious reaction to their Covid jab, but this has been a very small percentage of those vaccinated.

Reacting badly to any vaccination is very rare, with any side effects usually minimal.