County health officials are now instructing local hospitals to start administering several Modern vaccines that were paused earlier this week due to a potentially increased risk of allergic reactions.
The municipality of Santa Clara received about 21,800 doses of Moderna Lot 41L20A distributed in early January, and more than 330,000 of these doses were distributed throughout the state. Health officials stopped administering the batch after several individuals experienced allergic reactions at a San Diego vaccination site last week.
Local hospitals earlier this week said they had not administered any vaccines in the batch or administered some prior to the break, but had not reported any allergic reactions.
“These findings confirm that the systems put in place to ensure the safety of the vaccine are working as they should,” said Santa Clara County Public Health Officer, Dr. Sara Cody. “This latest rigorous scientific analysis of possible allergic reactions once again confirmed that the vaccine is safe … People in Santa Clara County can feel confident that vaccinating our community against COVID-19 will save lives and serve as our path to out of the pandemic. ”
California state epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said the decision to resume vaccinations for the batch was taken after calling a scientific safety review group, along with other allergy and immunology experts across the state.
“These findings should continue to give Californians confidence that vaccines are safe and effective, and that the systems in place to ensure vaccine safety are rigorous and science-based,” said Pan. “Qualified family members to receive the vaccine as health professionals or due to their age they have already received the vaccine COVID-19, and I encourage all Californians to get the vaccine when it is their turn ”.
On January 21, the county reported 94,905 cumulative cases of COVID-19 and 1,129 deaths.
For common reader questions about the vaccine launch in Santa Clara County, click here.
Contact Madelyn Reese at [email protected] and follow her @MadelynGReese on twitter.