Japan Suspends 1.6 Million Doses of Moderna Vaccine After Reports of Contamination
August 26, 2021 | By
A view of a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine vial that is being administered for flight attendants of Japan Airlines in Haneda Airport as the airline company began its workplace vaccination Monday, June 14, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
“Japan announced on Aug. 26 that it’s suspending the use of about 1.63 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine due to reports of contamination.
The country’s health ministry said “foreign materials” were found in at least 390 doses—or 39 vials—of the Moderna vaccine coming from eight vaccination sites, according to The Asahi Shimbun.
Takeda Pharmaceutical, a Japanese drugmaker distributing the Moderna vaccines in Japan, had received reports of contamination from multiple vaccination sites. The health ministry subsequently learned of the matter on Aug. 25, the outlet reported.
“It’s a substance that reacts to magnets … it could be metal,” a ministry official reportedly said, according to Nikkei Asia.
The reports of contamination involve a batch that has a total of 565,400 doses. The ministry said it decided to suspend the lot as a precaution after it had consulted with Takeda. It also suspended another two batches.
The three batches altogether contain 1.63 million vaccine doses, which have been distributed to 863 vaccination centers across the country. The ministry will request that the centers not use them.
Officials said that an unknown number of doses from the affected lot have been administered, but there have been no reported adverse effects thus far.
Takeda said in a statement that it had asked Moderna to investigate the safety of the vaccine as a matter of emergency. It also shared the batch numbers, which are 3004667, 3004734, and 3004956.
“Moderna confirms having been notified of cases of particulate matter being seen in drug product vials of its COVID-19 vaccine,” Moderna said in a statement. “The company is investigating the reports and remains committed to working expeditiously with its partner, Takeda, and regulators to address this.”