King County Woman Dies Of Rare, Vaccine-Related Blood Clot

SEATTLE — Local health leaders confirm that a King County woman has died from a rare blood clotting syndrome caused by the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Public Health - Seattle & King County reports the woman received her J&J shot on Aug. 26, and died Sept. 7. Her cause of death was then ruled to be thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), an extremely rare but sometimes fatal complication which causes blood clotting in patients who have received the one-dose J&J vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control have since confirmed the diagnosis. It is the fourth death the CDC has linked to an adverse vaccine reaction and TTS.

Following the news, the Washington State Department of Health and Public Health - Seattle & King County expressed their condolences to the woman's family.

“This is the first such death in Washington State," said Dr. Umair Shah, Washington Secretary of Health. "We send our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. Losing a loved one at any time is a tragic and difficult and pain that’s become all too familiar in the last year and a half of this pandemic.”

The DOH stresses that, despite the tragic incident, adverse vaccine reactions remain extremely rare. 12.5 million doses of the J&J vaccine had been administered by July 8, said Public Health - Seattle & King County. Out of those millions of shots, just 38 caused confirmed causes of TTS, and the majority of those patients fully recovered.

To put that in comparison, the DOH says that the risk of blood clotting is much higher in birth control medication — something millions of women use every day.

That said, Public Health says it helps to know the risk factors for TTS. Research indicates that the highest risk is in adult women younger than 50 years old. Symptoms of an adverse reaction include severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg swelling, and shortness of breath. Anyone who suffers those symptoms after taking a J&J dose should contact their health care provider or an urgent care center.

However, if prospective patients are concerned about TTS, they can also opt for the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines — neither of which has been associated with the rare condition.

According to doctors, the main crux is this: TTS can be deadly, but it's also extremely rare. COVID-19, can be just as deadly, and is not rare at all. Weighing those options, Public Health says vaccination is an infinitely safer bet:

"Vaccinations continue to prevent many deaths and hospitalizations," the agency said. "Over the last 30 days in King County, an unvaccinated person’s risk of dying from COVID-19 was 57 times higher than a vaccinated person of the same age. The risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19 was 41 times higher for an unvaccinated person, compared to a vaccinated person of the same age. In King County to date, 1,899 people have died from COVID-related illness."

>> Read more on vaccine safety and efficacy from the Washington State Department of Health.