Local vaccine partners have stopped administering shots of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine after San Benito County officials received word that a shipment they received could lead to an allergic reaction.
The California Department of Public Health on Jan. 18 released a statement stating that the Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine, Lot 041L20A, was linked to possible allergic reactions. San Benito County Public Health Services and the San Benito Health Foundation both received a batch of the vaccine.
California State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica S. Pan said in a statement that their goal is to provide the Covid-19 vaccine but a “higher-than-usual number of possible allergic reactions were reported with a specific lot of Moderna vaccine administered at one community vaccination clinic.”
Pan added that less than 10 people required medical attention during a 24-hour span. However, they are being cautious and recommend that providers halt any administration of Moderna Lot 041L20A vaccine doses.
She said they’ll wait until the investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Drug Administration, Moderna and the state is complete.
“We will provide an update as we learn more,” she said.
San Benito County Health Foundation reported they received 300 doses and have vaccinated 250 people with the Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine Lot 051L20A. There were no bad reactions reported during a 15-minute observation period, however, they still paused administration of the remaining doses from this lot.
The San Benito County Department of Public Health received 400 doses and has vaccinated 100 individuals. There were no adverse reactions reported and they also paused administration of doses from this lot.
Hazel Hawkins Hospital reported they did not receive any doses from this lot of Moderna vaccines.
County officials said the public is encouraged to report any adverse reactions to V-safe, which is a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after receiving a Covid-19 vaccination. V-safe can quickly alert CDC if anyone has side effects after getting vaccinated.
