Thankfully, vaccinations for Covid-19 are becoming more widespread in our country giving us all hope for a return to normalcy.
There have been reports about patients who previously had dermal fillers, experiencing swelling in their lips and faces. As of this writing, the FDA reports three participants in the Moderna vaccine study, out of 15,184 who received at least one dose of Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine, developed lip or facial swelling in areas of dermal filler placement. No participants in the placebo group experienced any filler-related adverse events.
Due to the nature of the study data collection, there was no way to determine the timespan between filler injection and vaccination or filler reaction. We do know that all three patients responded well to standard treatment for filler reactions with steroids and hyaluronidase to dissolve the filer.
The good news is that as the number of people vaccinated has increased, there have not been any reports of additional patients with adverse reactions. This does seem to be a rare complication.
It is based on this information that I am making my recommendations:
• Wait at least two weeks after getting filler to receive any vaccination, including the first and second doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
• Do not delay or avoid getting the Covid-19 vaccine if they have received filler in the past.
The risk of a reaction is low and if it occurs, is easily treatable.
– Dr. Don Griffin