While plenty of people may claim they have a medical exemption from getting vaccinated, legitimate medical exemptions are "very uncommon," William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Health.<\/em><\/p>\n What conditions could cause someone to be medically exempted from the COVID-19 vaccine? The classification is actually pretty narrow. Here's a breakdown.<\/p>\n RELATED: A Church Camp Didn't Require Masks or Vaccinations—And Nearly 200 People Got COVID<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Here's a list of the Comirnaty vaccine ingredients:<\/p>\n While we're at it, here's a list of the ingredients in the Moderna<\/a> COVID-19 vaccine:<\/p>\n And the ingredients for the Johnson & Johnson<\/a> COVID-19 vaccine:<\/p>\n For each vaccine, the contraindication is the same: You shouldn't get it if you have had a severe allergic reaction to one of the ingredients in the vaccine.<\/p>\n It's worth noting that a miniscule number of people have had anaphylactic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines—data<\/a> shows it's about two to five cases per million doses.<\/p>\n RELATED: New COVID-19 Mu Variant Named a 'Variant of Interest'—Here's What You Need to Know <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Also, keep this in mind: If you're allergic to something in one of the vaccines, you should be able to get another of the three vaccines available, given that the ingredients are different.<\/p>\n "Because there is more than one type of vaccine available in the United States, I don't think that there are actual true medical exemptions to both mRNA vaccines and the adenovirus vectored vaccine," infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Health<\/em>.<\/p>\n "For example, if someone had a severe allergic reaction to dose one of the mRNA vaccines, they could complete their series with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine," Dr. Adalja says. "The same is true for those who have known allergies to the ingredients of one of the vaccines."<\/p>\n There may be at least one other situation where a doctor will write a medical exemption with legitimate intentions, Dr. Schaffner explains: if someone developed a serious health issue soon after getting their first dose of an mRNA vaccine. "There are some people who have received one dose of the vaccine and had a subsequent medical event close in time to the vaccine," he says. "It's not currently listed as a medical contraindication, but doctors are often willing to give patients a medical exemption."<\/p>\n RELATED: How to Take an At-Home COVID-19 Test and What to Do if You Test Positive<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Schaffner recommends meeting with an allergist. They can give you allergy testing to see what, exactly, you're allergic to and then recommend the right COVID-19 vaccine for you based on the findings, he says.<\/p>\n If you do happen to qualify for a medical exemption, it will likely be in the form of a doctor's note, Dr. Schaffner says.<\/p>\n Still, if you happen to be allergic to an ingredient in one COVID-19 vaccine, experts recommend investigating to see if you can get another vaccine. "Getting vaccinated is important," Dr. Schaffner says.<\/p>\n The information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it's possible that some data have changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC<\/a>, WHO<\/a>, and their local public health department as resources.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"What-Counts-as-a-Medical-Exemption-From-the-COVID-Vaccine-GettyImages-563962221-1324493378\"](\"https:\/\/imagesvc.meredithcorp.io\/v3\/mm\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F12%2F2021%2F09%2F02%2FWhat-Counts-as-a-Medical-Exemption-From-the-COVID-Vaccine-GettyImages-563962221-1324493378-1-2000.jpg\")
What-Counts-as-a-Medical-Exemption-From-the-COVID-Vaccine-GettyImages-563962221-1324493378<\/span> for Comirnaty, and it's pretty easy to understand. The FDA says that people with a "known history of a severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to any component of Comirnaty" shouldn't get the vaccine. So, if you have a known—severe—allergy to one of the ingredients in the vaccine, you shouldn't get it.<\/p>\n\n
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What to do if you have an allergy to a COVID-19 vaccine <\/h2>\n