LINCOLN, Nebraska (WOWT) – Governor Pete Ricketts shared on Friday some more details about the CDC investigation into how the COVID-19 vaccination may have contributed to the death in January of a Nebraskan in his 40s.
Usually, he said, a death from vaccination is caused by a severe allergic reaction, which is why those who receive the vaccine are usually asked to wait about 15 minutes after receiving it – but that was probably not the cause in this case.
“In this case, the person died a week or two after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, so it was not an anaphylactic reaction,” said Ricketts during his press conference on Friday morning. “It is not clear whether that person died because of the vaccine that was listed and one of the causes on the death certificate, but that is why we do the investigation.”
Some information about the death cannot be shared to protect that person’s privacy, but authorities will try to provide as much detail as possible as the investigation progresses, the governor said.
Dr. Gary Anthone, Nebraska’s chief medical officer, agreed that the Nebraskan who died 10 to 14 days after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine was unlikely to experience an anaphylactic reaction to it.
COVID-19 vaccines “have a very safe profile,” he said. The Pfizer vaccine had 5 anaphylactic reactions reported per million doses of vaccination and the Modern vaccine had 3 anaphylactic reactions reported per million doses. This is similar to flu vaccines, as well as measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, said Anthone.
The governor said about 165,000 Nebraska residents have received the COVID-19 vaccine so far.
“It would be very unusual for someone to die 10 days to two weeks after receiving the vaccination, so that’s why we need this investigation (CDC),” said Anthone.
Speaking more about the vaccine launch, Ricketts reiterated that Nebraska was in Phase 1B, prioritizing those aged 65 and over, but noted that there may be some rare exceptions where someone who “does not exactly fit the profile” of the current age group gets a vaccine. That’s because when clinics have a few doses left, they look for those in other future priority groups to vaccinate, so that no doses are missed, he said, noting that there is no “stand-by” list.
In the registration system, providers can watch when they have had to discard a dose of vaccination, but the system is not able to extract that information at the moment, said DHHS chief data strategist Ashley Newmyer.
Authorities have not given details of the doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that the state may have rejected.
A Douglas County Health Department spokesman said on Friday that the DCHD “ruled out a dose due to a needle failure”. In addition, he said, the department has a “call list” for extra doses, “so everyone is getting used to it.”
Ricketts said the federal government chose 33 of the 43 pharmacies that applied for distribution of vaccines at retail pharmacies, he said. The governor again criticized the way the federal government is dealing with the implementation of the pharmaceutical retail program, saying that the state’s health districts have not been warned enough to start planning this part of the vaccine implementation.
The governor said the state’s registration of the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine through local health departments was faster and more timely than that of the federal pharmacy program. He said the authorities are working on a plan to use any FEMA assistance the state can obtain to replace volunteers who assist in testing and administering the vaccine with a paid team.
TIME NOTICE: Ricketts also warned Nebraskans about the extreme cold expected over the weekend and asked them to stay home if they don’t need to go out – or to have a cold preparation kit if they need it.
Watch Friday’s press conference
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