In the latest trap of the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine in California, the state’s top epidemiologist recommended Sunday night that clinics suspend hundreds of thousands of doses after a series of allergic reactions in southern California.
An abnormally high number of people experienced anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction that requires immediate medical attention, after receiving a shot of the Modern vaccine at a San Diego vaccination site, Dr. Erica Pan said in a statement Sunday night. Although the figure was less than 10, the accumulation of negative reactions caused the California Department of Public Health to pause the administration of about 330,000 doses of the batch, which had been distributed throughout the state, until the investigation is completed.
“Our goal is to provide the COVID vaccine safely, quickly and equitably,” Pan said in the statement. “A higher than usual number of possible allergic reactions were reported with a specific batch of Modern vaccine administered at a community vaccination clinic. … For an extreme abundance of caution and also to recognize the extremely limited supply of vaccines, we recommend that suppliers use other available vaccine inventories and pause the administration of vaccines from modern batch 041L20A until CDC, FDA, Modern and full state investigation.We will provide an update as we we know more. “
The reactions reported at the San Diego clinic were similar to rare occurrences that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had warned and warned them to be on the lookout for. In California, vaccination sites monitor receptors in situ for 15 minutes to detect adverse reactions. The Southern California cluster was the first in the nation that cared enough to stop use altogether.
The 330,000 doses in the Moderna batch amount to just under 10% of all vaccine doses allocated so far in California. But of the 3.5 million doses the state has received, according to CDC data, it had administered less than a third, just over a million doses. According to CDC data, according to per capita information, only five states have inoculated less of their residents than California.
Severe allergic reactions are thought to be, although possible, extremely rare in Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. The anaphylaxis rate of the Modern vaccine was expected to be about one in 100,000, officials said. Several state and federal agencies had opened an investigation into the cases and said they would have more information later this week.