Three signs of an allergic reaction to the new coronavirus vaccine have been revealed.  Scientists say adverse responses to vaccines are "not unexpected" after the launch of the UK's Covid-19 mass vaccination programme on 'V-Day' yesterday.   The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have advised people with a history of significant allergic reactions to avoid the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus jab.  It comes after two NHS staff members who received the jab on Tuesday had allergic reactions after being given the vaccine.  The health workers, who are understood to both have a history of severe allergic reactions, were among thousands to receive the vaccine on the first day of the Covid-19 mass vaccination programme.  The patient safety leaflet for the vaccine cautions that anyone with an allergy to any of the active substances in the vaccine should not receive the jab.  It adds: "Signs of an allergic reaction may include itchy skin rash, shortness of breath and swelling of the face or tongue."  The NHS in England said all trusts involved with the vaccination programme have been informed.  This means that anyone scheduled to receive the vaccine will be asked about their history of allergic reactions.  Professor Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, said: "As is common with new vaccines, the MHRA have advised on a precautionary basis that people with a significant history of allergic reactions do not receive this vaccination after two people with a history of significant allergic reactions responded adversely yesterday.  "Both are recovering well."  Pfizer said the vaccine was "well tolerated" during the trials with "no serious safety concerns".  Commenting on the allergic reactions, Peter Openshaw, past-president of the British Society for Immunology and professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, said: "As with all food and medications, there is a very small chance of an allergic reaction to any vaccine.  "However, it is important that we put this risk in perspective. The occurrence of any allergic reaction was one of the factors monitored in the phase three clinical trial of this Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, the detailed data from which was released yesterday.  "In this, they reported a very small number of allergic reactions in both the vaccine and placebo groups (0.63% and 0.51%)."  Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, added that allergic reactions to the vaccine is 'not unexpected'.  He said: "Allergic reaction occurs with quite a number of vaccines, and perhaps even more frequently with drugs. So it is not unexpected.  "The Pfizer data showed that about 0.6% of people had some form of allergic reaction in the trial on the vaccine, but about 0.5% on placebo. So there was a genuine excess of allergic reaction but this was small and the true rate is not known, and there is a lot of uncertainty around that

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