SALEM — An Oregon woman in her 50s has become the first known person in the state to have died after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose COVID-19 vaccine and suffering blood clots, the Oregon Health Authority reported Thursday, April 22.

The woman died this week after having been inoculated at some point before federal officials called for a nationwide pause April 13 to give medical experts time to study half a dozen cases of other Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients experiencing life-threatening blood clots.

The health authority said the Oregon woman “developed a rare but serious blood clot within two weeks following vaccination.” Officials did not share which part of Oregon she was from or other details about her.

The health authority is investigating whether her death was directly caused by the vaccine or there is no link.

“Until the investigation is complete, it cannot be concluded whether her death is related to the vaccine,” the health authority said in a news release.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently reviewing whether it’s safe to restart inoculations of the vaccine based on a small number of blood-clot cases that have emerged.

Oregon health officials also announced 989 new or presumptive COVID-19 cases April 21, continuing the troubling upward trajectory seen across the state in recent weeks.

Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen told a House legislative COVID-19 subcommittee “there’s a fair amount of not-so-good news in our update this week.”

The bad news included that — despite recent predictions it would be a week later — Oregon could see 300 people hospitalized with the virus within the next few days. Last week, an Oregon Health & Science University predicted the state would hit that 300-patient threshold by May.

During the April 21 legislative hearing, Allen also highlighted how the state’s positivity rate has risen to about 6%, indicating a higher spread of disease and a need for more testing. And while Allen said Oregon had the third lowest number of cases per capita since the pandemic began, the state was the 23rd lowest per capita over the past week.

Gov. Kate Brown announced April 20 that 11 counties could move to the state’s “extreme risk” category and its accompanying restrictions if Oregon reaches 300 hospitalizations and a 15% increase over the past week. Those counties include Baker, Clackamas, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Linn, Marion and Polk.

Currently, Grant County is ranked second highest in the nation for COVID-19 case rates, behind Dimmit County, Texas, according to The New York Times. Grant County, population 7,200, beat out every county in Michigan, which is dominating the list of top 100 counties, for most COVID-19 cases per capita.

Klamath County also has made the list, ranking 87th.

“Obviously, it’s concerning…” Allen told lawmakers. “We are still on the upward track here.”