County officials say problematic Moderna lot not administered

A specific lot of the Moderna vaccine for Covid-19 has caused a “higher-than-usual” number of allergic reactions but luckily, none of those vaccines have been administered to anyone in Santa Clara County, county officials said Monday.

The Moderna lot 41L20A was halted by the California Department of Public Health on Sunday because it had caused a “higher-than-usual” number of allergic reactions potentially caused by the vaccine, state officials said.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that anaphylaxis, or extreme allergic reaction, is possible from a Covid-19 vaccine, but less data exists on adverse reactions to the Moderna vaccine.

The state’s Department of Public Health said in a statement:

“A similar vaccine shows that the expected rate of anaphylaxis is approximately 1 in 100,000.”

State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said pausing vaccination from this lot is “out of an extreme abundance of caution,” and “fewer than 10 individuals required medical attention over the span of 24 hours.”

More than 33,000 doses from this lot were distributed across the state, 21,800 of which were allocated to Santa Clara County’s Public Health Department for distribution to local vaccine providers.

Shipments arrived between Jan. 5 though Jan. 12, state officials said in a statement.

County officials said they have notified providers who have received doses from this lot, including Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Stanford Health Care and El Camino Health.

Vaccine providers are required to report any adverse reactions to the federal government through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, and county officials said they have no seen “unusual levels of adverse reactions,” in Santa Clara County.

The allergic reactions are under investigation by the CDC, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Moderna and the state.

County public health officials said in a statement:

“The County is working closely with CDPH as the situation evolves and will notify the affected vaccine providers and the public as soon as more information becomes available.”