U.S. King County woman dies from rare blood-clotting syndrome from J&J vaccine

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A King County female resident in her late 30s has become the first person in the U.S. state of Washington who died from a rare blood-clotting syndrome after receiving the Johnson &Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, local health officials said Tuesday.

The woman received her shot on Aug. 26, and died on Sept. 7, according to a statement from the Public Health Department of Seattle &King County.

"Her cause of death was determined to be thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a condition that has been identified as a rare but potentially serious adverse event in people who received the J&J vaccine. The diagnosis was confirmed by the CDC's Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Project," the statement said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported only three other confirmed deaths nationally, it added.

In April of this year, the CDC paused its authorization of the J&J vaccine to study the risks from these rare complications. According to the statement, the CDC concluded that the benefits outweigh the risks for continued use of the J&J vaccine.

Out of 12.5 million doses of the J&J vaccine administered as of July 8, 2021, 38 people have had confirmed cases of TTS, according to the CDC, and the majority of these people have recovered.

Women aged 18-49 are at higher risk for these adverse events compared to women 50 years and older.

The statement argued that it is important to provide education about the risk for TTS and the availability of other COVID-19 vaccine options, particularly for women aged 18-49 years.