35,320 doses of Moderna, Pfizer vaccine arrive; immunization clinics set to resume March 8
Guam's Covid-19 death toll has been adjusted to 133 following a review of medical records, which revealed that two earlier fatalities were previously unaccounted for, according to Joint Information Center.
Besides the two belated death reports, government officials said four more deaths are currently being reviewed.
"This is an ongoing process, and Guam’s Covid-19-related death count may be occasionally adjusted in the future, pending the results of the review," JIC said.
During the last two weeks, the Department of Public Health and Social Services (DPHSS) chief medical officer and territorial epidemiologist, in coordination with the acting chief medical Examiner, have been conducting a review of all possible Covid-19-related deaths.
This coordinated review process has resulted in the classification of two additional deaths as Covid-19-related and has brought Guam’s current Covid-19-related death count to 133.
The 132nd Covid-19-related fatality occurred on Jan. 6. The patient was a 68-year-old female with underlying health conditions. She was admitted to the Guam Regional Medical City on Dec. 1, 2020, and tested positive upon admission. The patient expired at home after being discharged from GRMC.
The 133rd Covid-19-related fatality occurred at the Guam Memorial Hospital (GMH) on Feb. 19.
The patient was a 29-year-old female with underlying health conditions. She presented with symptoms and initially tested negative upon admission to GMH. The patient was identified as a confirmed positive case following a confirmatory test performed by the Guam Public Health Laboratory.
One new case of Covid-19 was identified out of 576 tests performed on Thursday, March 4. To date, there have been a total of 7,748 officially reported cases of COVID-19 with 133 deaths, 25 cases in active isolation, and 7,590 not in active isolation.
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Meanwhile, 35,260 doses of vaccine for March allocation have arrived this week.
A total of 14,200 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrived on Thursday, March 4, and 21,060 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines arrived on Friday, March 5.
During the inspection of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, the lights on the temperature recording device for one of the four boxes was not visible. DPHSS’ Immunization Program has contacted federal partners to report the status and has also contacted the manufacturer for further guidance. In the meantime, the package is being stored properly in ultra cold temperatures using dry ice in a secure location. The remaining three packages have also been properly transferred into the ultra-low temperature freezer.
On March 2, DPHSS placed an order for 1,300 doses of the Johnson & Johnson Janssen (J&J/Janssen) -19 vaccine through the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On Feb. 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the J&J/Janssen vaccine. According to the CDC, this vaccine is a single-dose viral vector vaccine that is administered intramuscularly in deltoid muscle in adults 18 years of age or older. There is no estimated time of arrival for the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines at this time, but more details will be provided once they become available.