This is the first death of this kind in Washington state and just the fourth confirmed nationwide.
SEATTLE — A King County resident has died from a blood clotting syndrome linked to the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine.
Public Health – Seattle & King County announced the death Tuesday morning, calling the syndrome “rare.”
The victim was a woman in her late 30s, according to the health department. She received her single dose of the vaccine on Aug. 26, 2021. She died less than two weeks later.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been three other confirmed deaths nationally.
The Washington Department of Health said this was the first death of this kind in the entire state.
Earlier this year, the CDC paused its authorization of the J&J vaccine to study the risks of these blood clots. However, the CDC determined that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks of catching COVID-19.
As of July 8, only 38 of the 12.5 million people who received the J&J vaccine reported having these complications, most of whom recovered.
The CDC found that women ages 18-49 are at higher risk for adverse effects from the J&J vaccine than women ages 50 and up.
Still, the CDC said the benefit far outweighs the risk, explaining that for every 1 million doses of the J&J vaccine administered to women ages 18-49, 297 hospitalizations, 56 ICU admissions and six deaths due to COVID-19 could be prevented. Meanwhile, only seven expected cases of blood clots would be prevented.
These blood clotting cases have not been found in patients who receive the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, which are the most widely available vaccines in King County and across the nation.