Health Advisory: COVID-19 Updates for Providers

| July 20, 2021

Actions Requested

  • Be aware the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) fact sheets to include possible risks of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia and Guillain-Barre Syndrome following vaccination:
  • Be aware the FDA extended the shelf life of J&J COVID-19 vaccine from 3 months to 4 ½ months. Visit Janssen’s lot expiry checker to determine the updated expiration of your vaccine.
  • Continue to report myocarditis or pericarditis in people who got COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within the last 2 weeks.
    • Promptly report cases to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS).
    • Report cases to the Health Department’s 24-hour reporting line, (360) 728-2235. Include vaccine manufacturer, vaccine lot number, vaccination date, dose number, patient gender, age, and history of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  • Be aware Washington State Department of Health (DOH) launched the Power of Providers initiative, to motivate and support providers to ask patients’ vaccination status, ask them about the vaccine and offer education, give vaccine or a referral, and empower patients to share their vaccination status. Sign up here to join the campaign.
    • Watch the recording of the POP initiative launch with Governor Jay Inslee and Secretary of Health Umair Shah.
  • Vaccinate everyone 12 years or older against COVID-19.
    • Make COVID-19 vaccination a new vital sign. Review all patients’ vaccination records to help them get up to date with all vaccines. You can administer COVID-19 vaccine simultaneous with, or within any number of days of, other vaccines.
    • If you do not give vaccine, your patients can call the Health District (360) 728-2235, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. We can provide them with a list of places offering the COVID-19 vaccine.
    • Refer patients who can’t easily leave home and need COVID-19 vaccine to us at (360) 728-2235, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. We can coordinate with the Department of Health to bring the vaccine to them.
    • If you need to order smaller quantities of vaccine, please email your request to COVIDvaccine@kitsappublichealth.org.

Background

COVID-19 vaccine

As of July 13, nearly 150,000 Kitsap County residents have initiated COVID-19 vaccination. See our COVID-19 vaccine data page for details.

Risk of Guillain-Barre Syndrome after Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccination

On July 8, the FDA updated its J&J EUA fact sheet to reflect an increased risk of GBS, a rare neurological complication, during the 42 days following J&J vaccination. GBS is a neurological disorder in which the body’s immune system damages nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. VAERS received roughly 100 suspected cases of GBS among J&J vaccine recipients. Most cases were reported 2 weeks after vaccination among mostly men over 50. To date, 12.8 million doses of J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., suggesting a rate of 1 case per 128,000 people. The FDA lists the chance of getting this syndrome as “very rare.” So far, most cases reported have already recovered.

The FDA concluded that the “benefits of the vaccine in preventing severe COVID-19 and death much outweigh any danger.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup continue to recommend all 3 COVID-19 vaccines equally. This is an evolving situation and we expect to hear more from the FDA and CDC. We will update you if anything changes. We expect the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will review the data on this rare occurrence at their next meeting on July 22. Given increasing COVID-19 variant infections and higher risk for virus spread, continued vaccination is critical to prevent increased disease.

Clinical guidance

If patient refuses J&J COVID-19 vaccine, offer Moderna or Pfizer. It is important to continue protecting people against COVID-19.

People who previously had GBS may receive any of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Discard outdated J&J EUA fact sheets. When vaccinating patients with J&J, make sure you give them the most up to date EUA fact sheet for patients, which includes a description of what symptoms they should watch for. If patients call you with any of the following symptoms within 42 days of receiving J&J vaccine, advise them to seek medical attention right away:

  • Weakness or tingling, especially in the legs or arms, that worsens and spreads to other parts of the body.
  • Difficulty walking
  • Difficulty with facial movements, including speaking, chewing or swallowing.
  • Double vision or inability to move eyes
  • Difficulty with bladder control or bowel function

COVID-19 situation update

As of July 19, Kitsap County has had 9,055 COVID-19 cases and 122 deaths. For the week ending July 10, we added 62 cases; for the week ending July 17 we added 114. You can see this data on our data dashboard.

Kitsap County COVID-19 data continue to show significant disparities by race and ethnicity, particularly affecting Black and Latinx communities. You can view this data on our case demographics data dashboard.

COVID-19 vaccine is making a difference in our disease rates, but some areas and communities still need support to increase vaccination rates.

Although more Washingtonians are getting vaccinated against COVID-19, a growing number of people are not getting the second dose necessary to complete their series. Getting the second dose of the vaccine ensures the highest level of protection against the virus and its variants. The Department of Health will be using information from the WA Immunization System (IIS) to contact people who are overdue for their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. A series of messages (in multiple languages) will be sent via SMS, e-mail and/or phone on Monday, July 19th. Please help this effort by scheduling appointments or directing people to a vaccine location where they can receive the appropriate dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, matching the same brand as their first dose. By entering and updating all vaccination information into the IIS in a timely manner, we can maintain an accurate list of those that are overdue

COVID-19 testing

We have test kits for you! Abbott Laboratories extended all BinaxNOW tests’ shelf life to 12 months. See Abbott’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Product Expiry Update.

For questions or test kit orders, call or email Anne Moen: Anne.Moen@kitsappublichealth.org or (360) 633-9629.

COVID-19 test processing

Labs report varying amounts of time to process COVID-19 tests. To support faster turnaround, we encourage providers to use in-state labs. The table below shows COVID-19 test processing times for in-state private labs. If you have questions about Health District-facilitated antigen tests, contact Anne Moen at Anne.Moen@kitsappublichealth.org or call her at (360) 633-9629.

LAB TIME TO PROCESS TEST TESTS PROCESSED DAILY
FidaLab 24-48 hours 500
Kaiser 24 hours 600-700
LabCorp 24-48 hours Unknown
Northwest Pathology 24-48 hours 20,000
Quest 24-48 hours 700
UW Virology 18-24 hours 6,000–8,000
Atlas Genomic 16 hours 10,000

Patient education

Share the following materials with patients

Immediately report COVID-19: 24/7, call (360) 728-2235

  • Cases in the following people:
    • Healthcare workers
    • Public safety workers
    • Live or work in a long-term care facility, senior living center, permanent housing or similar congregate setting (e.g., shelter, correction facility) housing people at high risk for severe outcomes.
    • Anyone who dies with COVID-19.
    • Anyone with suspected MIS-C.
    • Ordering facility.
  • All other cases – Fax the following to (360) 813-1168 or call (360) 728-2235.
    • Patient – first name, last name, date of birth, gender, race, ethnicity, preferred language, phone number, address and zip code.
    • Specimen – collection date and type (NP, nasal swab, blood, etc.).
    • Test – type (PCR, NAAT, antigen, antibody/serology) and result (detected, not detected, inconclusive).
  • For all cases, report the person’s race, ethnicity and preferred language.

 

Contacting the Health Department

Contact Kitsap Public Health District Monday-Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. with questions or to report immediately notifiable conditions after hours by calling (360) 728-2235.

Resources

Vaccine Resources

Additional resources