Coronavirus update: Major Fresno health care provider halts Moderna vaccines
The COVID-19 vaccine that caused California’s top epidemiologist to issue a stop-use advisory has been pulled back by a major Fresno County health care provider.
Also on Monday, officials in Tulare and Kings counties confirmed they had administered some of a batch of the Moderna vaccine that Dr. Erica Pan warned providers to stop using after a “higher than usual” number of people experienced apparent allergic reactions at a San Diego clinic.
Clinica Sierra Vista postpones Moderna shots
Clinica Sierra Vista said Monday that it has 1,100 doses from the 041L20A lot and will postpone the administration of vaccines in both Kern and Fresno counties “until further supplies are obtained.” A spokesperson said those who received a Moderna vaccine from Clinica Sierra Vista on Monday didn’t receive one from the lot in question.
“All patients who have set up an appointment will be rescheduled,” Clinica Sierra Vista said, “and those individuals will be prioritized when vaccine is made available.”
Clinica Sierra Vista said Kern County received 3,000 doses of Moderna lot 041L20A and that it’s currently “the only supply of Moderna vaccine Kern County Public Health has left to access at this time.”
Kaiser removes some vaccines
Kaiser Permanente didn’t say whether that Moderna lot was at its Fresno facilities, but said Monday it removed the doses in question from its vaccine supply.
“At Kaiser Permanente, we have not recorded any severe adverse reactions in patients who received vaccine from this lot,” a Kaiser statement reads. “While all vaccine supply is extremely limited, this situation only affects a relatively small percentage of our supply.”
Kaiser said it will reach out to members if they need to reschedule an existing appointment.
Mary Lisa Russell, Community Medical Centers’ spokeswoman, said Community received doses of the Pfizer vaccine, not Moderna.
Fresno County will address Tuesday
In response to questions from The Bee, a spokesperson with the Fresno County Department of Public Health on Monday said most of their staff was out of the office for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, but would address vaccines during a media call Tuesday.
COVID-19 vaccines are getting harder to find in Fresno County, with many sites booking up and running out.
It was announced Monday that more vaccinations would be available this week at the Central High East campus in Fresno for health care workers and those 75 years of age and older.
Tulare County stops use
Carrie Monteiro, spokesperson for the Tulare County Department of Public Health, said some health providers in her county did receive doses of vaccine lot number 041L20A and that some of that lot had been administered to residents. All future doses from that lot have been “halted in abundance of extreme caution.”
“Of the doses administered in Tulare County from this lot of Moderna, we have received no reports of adverse reactions,” Monteiro said Monday. “Any severe adverse reactions would have occurred, been addressed by medical personnel on-site and reported during the observation period following the vaccine being administered to a patient.”
Monteiro didn’t have the number of halted doses on Monday afternoon, or how that suspension could affect future scheduled inoculations.
Kings, Mariposa announce plans
Kings County issued a news release about the Moderna vaccines Monday afternoon, stating it had received 300 vaccines from the lot in question, which were sent to ARIA Community Health Centers. County health officials said 200 of the 300 were administered to Aria staff and the public between Wednesday and Friday.
Aria has stopped administering more vaccines from this lot, officials said, pending further investigation and clearance from the state.
“To date, Aria has not observed any severe allergic reactions,” a Kings County health spokesperson said Monday, “though patients who received this lot are being contacted as a precautionary measure.”
Kings County said there were more than 330,000 doses from this lot that were distributed to 287 providers across the state, and that the shipments arrived in California between Jan. 5 and Jan. 12. California’s top epidemiologist pushed pause on administering more from this lot after less than 10 people who had received one of the shots required medical attention over the span of 24 hours.
“Though no vaccine or medical procedure is without risk, the risk of a serious adverse reaction is very minimal, and would develop within the 15-minute observation period immediately following administration,” a Kings County statement reads. “While less data exists on adverse reactions related to the Moderna vaccine, a similar vaccine shows that the expected rate of anaphylaxis is approximately 1 in 100,000.”
Mariposa County Health Officer Eric Sergienko said Mariposa County received 300 doses from the lot last week, but have not administered them. The vaccines are being quarantined in a county freezer until the state provides more direction.
Sergienko said those doses make up the majority of Mariposa County’s currently available vaccine supply and if the county isn’t cleared to use them, “we will have to postpone our mass vaccination clinic scheduled for Thursday.”
COVID-19 cases in the central San Joaquin Valley
There were 1,616 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the central San Joaquin Valley on Monday afternoon – many of those infections in Fresno County.
A regional stay-home order remains in effect for the Valley due to climbing cases of COVID-19 and 0% availability in area intensive care units.
New coronavirus cases and deaths were reported in the Valley on Monday by public health officials:
Fresno County: 745 new cases (82,039 total) and 932 total deaths.
Tulare County: 361 new cases (41,016 total) and 501 total deaths.
Merced County: 308 new cases (23,800 total) and 296 total deaths.
Madera County: 135 new cases (13,328 total) and 130 total deaths.
Kings County: 67 new cases (19,321 total) and 10 new deaths (143 total).
Mariposa County: 344 total cases and four total deaths. No new cases were reported Monday.
This story was originally published January 18, 2021 at 2:55 PM.
CORRECTION: The original version of this story gave an incorrect total for new Valley cases; the total is 1,616.
