A California resident who tested positive for COVID-19 in late December died last week hours after receiving a shot of the vaccine, officials announced.
The person, who has not yet been named, allegedly died Thursday in Placer County, in the greater Sacramento area.
Their death was announced by the Sheriff’s Office in Placer County in a Facebook message on Saturday. The department added that the incident is still under investigation.
“The individual administered a COVID-19 vaccine a few hours before their death on January 21, 2021,” the agency wrote. “The vaccine was not administered by Placer County Public Health.”
It is unclear whether the person received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine.
‘There are several local, state and federal agencies actively investigating this matter; any reports regarding the cause of death are premature, pending the outcome of the investigation. “Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased,” the sheriff continued.
Their death was announced by the sheriff of Placer County in a Facebook message on Saturday. The department added that the incident is still under investigation.
Officials at Placer County’s coroner’s office will perform an autopsy on Monday to determine the person’s specific cause of death.
No further details were shared by the authorities.
In a statement, the California Department of Health said: ‘We are thinking of the family of the deceased. We take these cases seriously and that is why we are working with our government partners to investigate the matter.
“We are working together and will continue to use data and science to determine how we should proceed.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitors reports of allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine, but health officials say the risk of a serious reaction is ‘extremely rare’.
Last week, dr. California State Epidemiologist Erica S. Pan recommends that providers discontinue the administration of one group of Moderna vaccine “with extreme caution” after being allergic to less than 10 people.
“Although no vaccine or medical procedure is without risk, the risk of a serious adverse reaction is very small,” the California Department of Health wrote.
“Although there is less data on side effects associated with the Moderna vaccine, a similar vaccine shows that the expected dose of anaphylaxis is approximately 1 in 100,000.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention monitors reports of allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine, but health officials say the risk of a serious reaction is ‘extremely rare’ (file photo)
The vaccines are known to have side effects, which include fatigue, headaches, chills and fever, but these are ‘normal signs that your body is building up protection’ and will disappear within a few days, the CDC said.
In the death of the person in Placer County, dr. Dean Blumberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, said KTLA should not be too quick to blame.
“A lot of people are going to make the connection with the vaccine because of the timing,” he said. ‘[My] first tendency is that it is probably not related to the vaccine.
“We know that the severe allergic reactions that occur after vaccination, the vast majority of which occur 15-30 minutes after vaccination,” Blumberg said.
He added that if the death occurred a few hours after receiving the vaccination, it is probably not the severe allergic reaction, anaphylaxis, that we are concerned about. ‘
The country’s leading expert on infectious diseases, dr. Anthony Fauci, recommends that people who have tested positive for the virus should not be tested until at least 90 days after the date of initial infection.
In California, nearly 5 million vaccine doses were distributed and 2,008,220 administered (photo: farm workers receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Tudor Ranch in Mecca, California, on January 21st.
As of Sunday morning, 41,411,550 doses of vaccines had been distributed and 20,537,990 administered nationwide. In total, just over three million people were completely vaccinated after receiving both doses of the shot.
In California, nearly 5 million doses were distributed and 2,008,220 administered.
While vaccination efforts are well underway, the state is still plagued by the virus.
In the past month, about 423 Californians have died from the coronavirus every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The state has recorded 36,405 deaths and more than 3.1 million cases since the pandemic began in March.
Across the U.S., 24,995,420 cases of the virus were reported and 414,441 Americans died.