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The state of California epidemiologist recommended that the state halt distribution of more than 330,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine after “higher than usual” numbers of people showed signs of a possible serious allergic reaction.
The recommendation comes at a difficult time in California, which is experiencing one of the country’s most acute epidemics. About 40,000 people test positive every day – the equivalent of the daily workload for the whole of the United States as of September – and California hospital beds are filling up.
State epidemiologist Dr Erica S. Pan made the recommendation “out of extreme caution” after several people who received the vaccine at a community clinic needed medical attention within 24 hours. Each appeared to be experiencing a possible “severe” allergic reaction, and officials recommended not using other vaccines from this batch until an investigation is completed, the health department said in a statement on Sunday. .
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an example of a severe allergic reaction is if a patient needs to go to the hospital or be treated with epinephrine.
The recent reactions were linked to a vaccine distribution at Petco Park in San Diego, a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health said. It was not immediately clear how the delay would affect the state’s overall vaccine rollout, which has been jerky and confused.
The possible allergic reactions came from the same batch of Moderna vaccines, which included more than 330,000 doses, out of 3.5 million vaccines allocated to the state. California distributed less than a third of its allocated vaccines, below the national average, with 2.2% of the state’s population receiving a first dose, according to a New York Times vaccine tracker.
Allergic reactions are a rare response to some vaccines. Some estimates suggest that for a similar type of coronavirus vaccine, made by Pfizer-BioNTech, the risk of a severe allergic reaction is about 1 in 100,000.
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