Among the new coronavirus vaccines, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has announced that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be discontinued in Japan because it has reached its expiration date.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has purchased new coronavirus vaccines developed by four European and American pharmaceutical companies, and among them, AstraZeneca signed a contract to purchase 120 million doses in December, and is promoting vaccination in Japan. I came.
However, it is said that blood clots may occur in extremely rare cases after vaccination, and in August last year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare limited the target of vaccination to people over the age of 40 in principle. However, on September 30th, all the vaccines supplied had reached their expiration date, and domestic vaccination was terminated.
Of the approximately 57.7 million doses of vaccine supplied, only approximately 200,000 doses were delivered to local governments, approximately 44 million doses were provided free of charge overseas, mainly to developing countries, and the remaining approximately 13.5 million doses. is said to have been discarded.
In addition, the contract for about 62.3 million doses was canceled because there was no prospect of a significant increase in vaccinations.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has not disclosed the cost of purchasing the vaccine, but plans to receive a refund from AstraZeneca for the canceled vaccine, excluding necessary expenses.