The latest research shows that there is no evidence of infection from allergy shots, also known as allergen immunotherapy.

The threat of infection is one of the reasons cited in a proposal to restrict your access to allergy shots.

In this study, researchers looked at the records of more than 3,000 patients from two large Massachusetts hospitals. The data spanned 10 years. Patients received over 130,000 shots.

During that time, guess how many infections researchers traced back to the allergy shots?

None. That's right - none.

What does the study show, then? The authors said existing safety practices suggest that additional restrictions on allergy shots are not necessary.

Allergy shots are custom-made extracts that allergists mix for their patients, a process known as compounding.

Tighter rules on allergy shots may make your shots less affordable and harder to get.

Dr. Cary Sennett, AAFA’s President and CEO, mentioned this study at a recent FDA meeting about compounding. Dr. Sennett has been speaking out about the proposed restrictions since January. “We believe that such changes will have a negative impact on patients with allergy and allergic asthma,” he said.

Reference:

Balekian, D.S., Banerji, A., Blumenthal, K.G., Camargo*, C.A., Long, A.A. (2016). Allergen immunotherapy: No evidence of infectious risk. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Carlos A. Camargo Jr., MD, MPH, DrPH, is on AAFA’s Medical Scientific Council and one of the study’s authors.