Moderna vaccine contamination woes widen in Japan
Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine contamination woes in Japan widened after two regions put temporary holds on shots following the discovery of foreign substances in more batches.
The disruption to Moderna supplies comes as Japan battles its worst wave of COVID-19 yet https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-eyes-mixed-use-covid-19-shots-speed-vaccine-rollout-2021-08-29, driven by the contagious Delta variant, with new daily infections exceeding 25,000 this month for the first time amid a slow vaccine rollout.
The latest reports of vaccine contamination came from Gunma prefecture near Tokyo and the southern prefecture of Okinawa, prompting temporary holds on Sunday on shots from two new Moderna lots. That followed the nationwide suspension of 1.63 million doses https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-withdraws-16-mln-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-doses-over-contamination-nikkei-2021-08-25 last week.
A tiny black substance was found https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-gunma-prefecture-reports-contaminant-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-2021-08-30 in a Moderna vaccine vial in Gunma, an official from the prefecture said, while in Okinawa, black substances were spotted in syringes and a vial, and pink material was found https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/okinawa-finds-contaminants-moderna-covid-19-vaccines-nhk-2021-08-29 in a different syringe.
Japan’s health ministry said some of the incidents may have been due to needles being incorrectly inserted into vials, breaking off bits of the rubber stopper.
The ministry and Takeda Pharmaceutical, which distributes the Moderna vaccine in Japan, said there were no safety issues from the Okinawa and Gunma incidents and that there was no need for nationwide suspensions.
Gunma and Okinawa can resume using vials from the lots in question as long as they do not contain foreign materials, the ministry told a briefing late on Monday.
The contamination cases come on the heels of a government report on Saturday that two people died https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/two-die-japan-after-shots-suspended-moderna-vaccines-japan-govt-2021-08-28 after receiving Moderna shots that were among lots later suspended.