A woman in her late 30s has died of a rare blood clotting condition nearly two weeks after receiving a single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Washington, according to state health officials.
The woman is the first confirmed death in King County, and the fourth person to die nationwide out of the nearly 15 million people who have received the J&J shot since it became available in the U.S.
“We at Public Health are saddened by this loss and offer condolences to the woman’s family and loved ones,” the county’s public health department said in a statement released Tuesday. “As with many medications, the risk of serious adverse events is small, but not zero. It is vital for people to have this information in order to make their own informed decisions.”
The woman was vaccinated on Aug. 26 and died on Sept. 7. Experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed her cause of death was thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).
The condition, which mostly affects women ages 18-49, continues to be a rarity after vaccination with the J&J vaccine. Only two reports of TTS out of 346 million administered shots in the U.S. have been reported following the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as of Aug. 18, according to the CDC. Still, there isn’t an increased risk for developing the condition among those who received the Moderna or Pfizer coronavirus vaccines.
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