7,500 doses of red-flagged vaccine paused in Sonoma County

Sonoma County has shelved 7,500 doses of Moderna vaccine from a potentially harmful batch linked to severe allergic reactions in Southern California, yet another setback in its slow-moving campaign to inoculate as many as 100,000 residents over the age of 65.

Distribution of all remaining doses of Moderna Lot 041L20A was halted Sunday evening by Dr. Erica Pan, the state of California’s lead epidemiologist, after six people suffered allergic reactions at a mass vaccination event at Petco Park in San Diego. All occurred in a 24-hour period, and all required hospitalization.

More than 330,000 doses from the lot were distributed to 287 providers across the state from Jan. 5 to 12, Pan said. Overall, nearly 1.3 million doses were produced in the batch, Moderna confirmed. Nearly a million doses were distributed to approximately 1,700 vaccination sites in 37 states, the company said.

State health officials didn't provide details on the symptoms associated with the allergic reactions but did provide a link to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website about anaphylaxis — a severe allergic reaction that may occur in a small percentage of cases after getting a COVID-19 vaccine. Symptoms of anaphylaxis can include lightheadedness, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, confusion and fainting. The CDC considers an allergic reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine to be severe if the person needs to be treated with epinephrine or must go to the hospital.

The county and local hospitals had received 7,500 doses from the production lot linked to the allergic reactions, a Sonoma County spokesperson confirmed.

“County health officials are working with state officials and local health care partners to determine whether/how many doses of Moderna Lot 041L20A have been distributed,” the Sonoma County spokesperson wrote in an email.

Shelving 7,500 doses of vaccine — an amount that exceeds the total number of doses administered in Sonoma County over the most recent eight-day period reported by the county — is a major blow for the local immunization drive.

Several local hospitals confirmed receiving portions of the Moderna shipment in question.

Sutter Health, which owns Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, and Providence St. Joseph Health, which owns Santa Rosa Memorial and Petaluma Valley hospitals, both acknowledged getting an undisclosed number of doses of the red-flagged Moderna vials at their Sonoma County facilities. Healdsburg Hospital received 200 doses, a representative said. None of the doses were administered to staff or patients at any of the four hospitals.

“We have put these doses in quarantine until further notice,” St. Joseph Health officials said.

Sonoma Valley Hospital did not receive any portion of Lot 041L20A, a spokeswoman said.

Kaiser Permanente also acknowledged getting doses of the Moderna batch, but it was unclear how many of them might have made their way to Kaiser Santa Rosa.

“At Kaiser Permanente, we have not recorded any severe adverse reactions in patients who received vaccine from this lot,” the company said in a statement.

That echoes reports from elsewhere in the state. For some reason, the adverse reactions seem thus far to be limited to the San Diego event.

Doses from the Moderna batch will expire in July. Providers are expected to store them until public health and Moderna investigators learn more about the allergic reactions.

Mendocino County was hit, too, but on a lesser scale. The county administered 100 doses of Lot 041L20A at a Jan. 7 vaccination event at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds, county vaccine coordinator Adrienne Thompson said in a statement. No adverse side effects were registered, Thompson said. Mendocino County staff are attempting to contact all 100 individuals who received the vaccine.

Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Andrew Coren emphasized that because these are new vaccines, events such as this are not unexpected, and should not deter the public from getting vaccinated.

“This isolated event has not increased the percentage of vaccine reactions, which continue to be about one person in 100,000,” he said. “Getting vaccinated continues to be the best way for all of us to help move beyond this virus and return to a normal way of life.”

Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County’s health officer, said she agreed with Coren’s statement.

You can reach Staff Writer Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Skinny_Post.