COVID-19 AND VACCINE EXEMPTION LETTERS

We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of stress and there are people who may not want to get vaccinated for personal preference reasons, or previous reactions to other medications/foods/etc. However, as board certified allergists, we are mandated to follow the strict guidelines/science/data of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Public health, and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) on who qualifies for COVID19 vaccine medical exemptions.

We will not be able to make ANY exceptions to these rules - we are not allowed to. We will not tolerate ANY abusive language or bullying behavior towards any member of our team - this will immediately disqualify you from being seen in our office. We will not take bribes for exemption letters, so please, don’t even ask us for this.

If your doctor sent us a consult and it was rejected by our clinic, it is because your history of previous medical issues are not contraindications for getting the COVID vaccine, you do not need to be tested and don’t qualify for an exemption letter. A letter would have been sent back to your doctor explaining why the consult was refused and you can ask your doctor for these details. You can always ask to see another allergist at a different clinic. But because we have been absolutely inundated with consults for COVID vaccine issues, we will only take consults going forward where there is a real concern for increased risk of true allergic reactions based on predetermined national guidelines.

According to public health guidelines, in order to be exempt from getting vaccinated you must show that there was a true allergy to a component of the COVID vaccine (Polyethylene Glycol or Polysorbate - we will test for these to confirm) or a history of a true allergic reaction to a previous COVID vaccine dose.

This pandemic has been hard on everyone, we regret that we cannot see everyone who is referred to us, and we thank you for your understanding.

From Dr. Seema Khan and the staff at Ottawa Allergy Associates.