Gelatin in Vaccines as a Possible Cause of Anaphylaxis Gelatin in Vaccines as a Possible Cause of Anaphylaxis Abs. S23 Pool V, Braun M, Kelso J, et al. Gelatin is used in some live viral vaccines as a heat stabilizer.
Several reports suggest that the gelatin in such vaccines can cause anaphylaxis.
A case-control study was conducted to identify possible risk factors for anaphylaxis after measles vaccination. Cases were identified from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a national passive surveillance system. Ten of the cases had a history of allergies to food or drugs. Efforts to identify alternatives to gelatin for vaccine stabilization may be needed.