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A Juneau health care worker was hospitalized and treated for a serious allergic reaction after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, hospital and health officials said Wednesday morning. Wednesday evening, hospital officials reported that another worker who received a vaccine at the hospital that day received brief emergency treatment as well, but did not experience anaphylaxis, or what’s known as a life-threatening allergic reaction. Multiple health care workers and officials on Wednesday were adamant about the importance of people continuing to receive the vaccine, and the state’s top health official said no changes to the vaccination plan were expected. (Krakow, 12/16)

The hospital, which had administered 144 total doses as of Wednesday night, said both workers did not want their experiences to have a negative impact on others lining up for the vaccine. “We have no plans to change our vaccine schedule, dosing or regimen,” Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. (Weiland, LaFraniere, Baker and Thomas, 12/16)

The worker received the vaccine Tuesday at Bartlett Regional Hospital. "During the whole time, she was still enthusiastic that she got the vaccine and the benefits that it would give her in the future," [according to Dr. Lindy Jones, the emergency room director at Bartlett.] The hospital's statement said she was "still encouraging her colleagues to get the vaccine." ... A second health care worker, a male, suffered a less-serious allergic reaction to the vaccine at the same hospital on Wednesday. "He felt completely back to normal within an hour and was released," after treatment in the emergency department with epinephrine, Pepcid and Benadryl, according to the hospital, which noted: "He too does not want his experience to have a negative impact on his colleagues lining up for the vaccine." (Christen Jones, 12/17)

The challenge is telling whether the vaccine caused a health problem or if it’s coincidence. Don’t jump to conclusions that there’s a connection, health authorities stress. The way to tell: Comparing any reports of possible side effects with data showing how often that same condition occurs routinely in the population. The government has multiple ways to do that. (Neergaard, 12/17)