It’s safe to resume the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine again, public health officials in California said Wednesday just days after people fell ill from it.
What’s going on?
California said Wednesday it will begin issuing more Moderna COVID-19 vaccines after the state paused distribution because people fell ill from the vaccine.
State epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said researchers “found no scientific basis to continue the pause.”
- She said vaccinations can “immediately resume.”
- “These findings should continue to give Californians confidence that vaccines are safe and effective, and that the systems put in place to ensure vaccine safety are rigorous and science-based,” Pan said
- Pan said some her own family members received the vaccine.
Context
Earlier this week, California public health officials called for a pause on the distribution of the Moderna vaccine because there were a high number of allergic reactions to it, as I wrote about for the Deseret News. The cases occurred at one specific community location.
Pan, who is California’s lead epidemiologist, said at the time that the vaccine distribution would be paused “out of an extreme abundance of caution.”
- “Out of an extreme abundance of caution and also recognizing the extremely limited supply of vaccine, we are recommending that providers use other available vaccine inventory and pause the administration of vaccines from Moderna Lot 041L20A until the investigation by the CDC, FDA, Moderna and the state is complete. We will provide an update as we learn more.”
Worries over allergic reactions
There has been some concern about allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine after reports surfaced of some health care workers needing emergency treatment due to allergic reactions.
But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that severe allergic reactions are rare. However, to avoid any reactions, the CDC said people should be screened ahead of time to avoid any potential problems, which I wrote about for the Deseret News.