King County woman dies from ‘very rare complication’ from J&J vaccine

SEATTLE — Public Health - Seattle & King County said a King County woman died from a rare blood clotting syndrome after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The woman in her late 30s is the first confirmed death in King County from what Public Health called a “very rare vaccine complication.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported three other confirmed deaths nationally.

According to a post on the Public Health Insider, the woman was vaccinated on Aug. 26 and died on Sept. 7.

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“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 post said.

In April, the CDC paused its authorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to study the risks, but later lifted the pause after determining that the benefits outweighed the risks, Public Health said.

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“The risk of any complication is extremely low. If you receive the vaccine and develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg swelling, or shortness of breath, contact your health care provider or an urgent care center,” the post said.

Read the full post from Public Health - Seattle & King County here.

Washington State Department of Health officials said they were aware of the death.

“Sadly, this is the first such death in Washington State. 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,” Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, said.

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