Approximately 100 Mendocino County coast residents received a dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine from lot 41L20A on Sunday, January 17, according to Adventist Health’s Public Information Officer Cici Winiger. The administration of this lot has been paused after “a higher-than-usual number of possible allergic reactions,” a press release from the California Department of Public Health announced this morning.
Winiger emphasized that “none of the patients who received the Moderna vaccine on the Mendocino Coast have had adverse reactions.”
To assure the safety of patients, Winiger said Adventist Health staff is “reaching out to those patients this morning to check on their well-being. There have not been any complications or severe reactions reported at this time.”
Winiger said Adventist Health follows instruction by the state to pause the administration of this specific lot of the Moderna vaccine and assured vaccination efforts would continue using other lots of Moderna’s vaccine and Pfizer’s.
Winiger explained that clinic staff followed vaccination administration guidelines requiring monitoring “our patients for at least 15 minutes to ensure their safety. During that time, there were no adverse reactions reported or observed.”
Regarding the allergic reaction associated with the 41L20A lot of the Moderna vaccine, Winiger said, “It’s important to note that the reactions were observed during the immediate observation period.”
Winiger said, “More than 300,000 doses from this lot were distributed across the state and a very small percentage have experienced complications. Rest assured that we will continue to follow these recommended guidelines to keep everyone safe.”
Mendocino County’s Vaccine Project Manager Adrienne Thompson said “the county’s mass vaccination at the fairgrounds did not include the recalled Moderna lot number.” She said the county’s “freezer supply is not listed in the recall.” Overall, Thompson said, “it appears that the County supply is good.”
