Sonoma County has archived 7,500 doses of the Modern vaccine from a potentially harmful batch linked to serious allergic reactions in Southern California, another setback in its slow campaign to inoculate up to 100,000 residents over 65.
The distribution of all remaining doses of Moderna Lote 041L20A was stopped on Sunday night by Dr. Erica Pan, the chief epidemiologist of the state of California, after six people suffered allergic reactions at a mass vaccination event in Petco Park in San Diego. All occurred within a 24-hour period and all required hospitalization.
More than 330,000 doses of the batch were distributed to 287 providers across the state from January 5 to 12, Pan said. Altogether, nearly 1.3 million doses were produced in the batch, Moderna confirmed. Nearly a million doses have been distributed to approximately 1,700 vaccination sites in 37 states, the company said.
State health officials have not provided details about the symptoms associated with allergic reactions, but have provided a link to a US Disease Control and Prevention Center website on anaphylaxis – a serious allergic reaction that can occur in a small percentage of cases after getting a vaccine for covid19. Symptoms of anaphylaxis can include dizziness, shortness of breath, tachycardia, confusion and fainting. The CDC considers a severe allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine if the person needs to be treated with epinephrine or goes to the hospital.
The county and local hospitals received 7,500 doses of the production batch related to allergic reactions, confirmed a Sonoma County spokesman.
“County health officials are working with state officials and local health partners to determine whether / how many doses of Moderna Lote 041L20A have been distributed,” wrote the Sonoma County spokesman by email.
Storing 7,500 doses of the vaccine – an amount that exceeds the total number of doses administered in Sonoma County during the most recent eight-day period reported by the county – is a major blow to the local immunization campaign.
Several local hospitals have confirmed receipt of parts of the shipment from Moderna in question.
Sutter Health, owner of Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, and Providence St. Joseph Health, owner of Santa Rosa Memorial and Petaluma Valley hospitals, both acknowledged having received an undisclosed number of bottles of Moderna with a red flag at their Sonoma County facility . Healdsburg Hospital received 200 doses, said a representative. None of the doses were administered to staff or patients at any of the four hospitals.
“We quarantined these doses until further notice,” said St. Joseph Health officials.
Sonoma Valley Hospital did not receive any portion of the 041L20A lot, a spokeswoman said.
Kaiser Permanente also acknowledged having received doses of the Moderna lot, but it was not clear how many of them could have gone to Kaiser Santa Rosa.
“At Kaiser Permanente, we do not report any serious adverse reactions in patients who received the vaccine from this batch,” the company said in a statement.
This echoes reports from other parts of the state. For some reason, adverse reactions seem, so far, to be limited to the San Diego event.
The doses of the Moderna batch expire in July. Providers are expected to store them until public health and Moderna researchers learn more about allergic reactions.
Mendocino County was also hit, but to a lesser extent. The county administered 100 doses of batch 041L20A at a January 7 vaccination event at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds, county vaccine coordinator Adrienne Thompson said in a statement. No adverse side effects have been recorded, Thompson said. The Mendocino County team is trying to contact all 100 individuals who received the vaccine.
Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Andrew Coren emphasized that, since these are new vaccines, events like this are not unexpected and should not prevent the public from being vaccinated.
“This isolated event did not increase the percentage of vaccine reactions, which remain about one person in 100,000,” he said. “Vaccination remains the best way for all of us to help overcome this virus and return to a normal way of life.”
Dr Sundari Mase, Sonoma County health officer, said she agreed with Coren’s statement.
You can contact editor Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or [email protected]. On Twitter @Skinny_Post.