Among the vaccines for the new coronavirus, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has announced that the vaccine of the American pharmaceutical company Novavax, which corresponds to the conventional strain, will be discontinued in Japan because it has reached its expiration date.
Vaccination against the new coronavirus is currently carried out in four types: a vaccine against the Omicron variant "XBB" strain developed by American pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna, and a Japan pharmaceutical company, Daiichi Sankyo, and a conventional strain vaccine developed by the American pharmaceutical company Novavax and produced in Japan by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.
Among them, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has announced that all vaccines purchased in 4 days will expire in Japan, so vaccination in Japan will be terminated.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Novavax vaccine has been used since May last year, and it is different from the vaccines of Pfizer, Moderna, and Daiichi Sankyo, and was intended to be used in people who have allergic reactions to previous vaccines.
So far, approximately 25.5 million doses have been purchased, of which approximately 824.110 million doses have been delivered to municipalities and used for vaccination.
On the other hand, about 714.<> million doses that were not delivered will be disposed of without being used.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, "In order to provide the opportunity to vaccinate all citizens who wish to be vaccinated, we recognize that the waste was not wasted."