California health official calls for pause on batch of Moderna vaccine after allergic reactions
California’s top epidemiologist warned doctors Sunday that one lot of the Moderna vaccine had caused a “higher than usual” number of allergic reactions.
Fewer than 10 people inoculated at San Diego County’s drive-thru mass vaccination site at Petco Park have shown a reaction, Dr. Erica Pan said in a statement, but she urged doctors to pause administering the specific vaccine.
“Out of an extreme abundance of caution and also recognizing the extremely limited supply of vaccine, we are recommending that providers use other available vaccine inventory and pause the administration of vaccines from Moderna Lot 041L20A until the investigation by the CDC, FDA, Moderna and the state is complete,” Pan said, according to Fox 11.
More than 330,000 doses from the specific lot have been distributed to 287 providers across the state, but health officials have not identified any other clusters of symptoms.
Earlier in the week, San Diego County’s director of epidemiology announced six healthcare workers had shown allergic reactions after their shot at Petco Park.
The drive-thru facility immediately swapped out the batch of vaccines it was administering “in the possible event” there was a connection between the lot and the reaction, Dr. Eric McDonald said Wednesday.
The CDC has warned about allergic reactions to the mRNA vaccinations, which typically show up 15 to 30 minutes after the shot. Symptoms include shortness of breath, throat tightening, nausea, dizziness, tachycardia, hives, itching or swelling of lips, face and throat.
