Japan: new batches of Moderna vaccine suspended due to impurities in some vials
A man receives a dose of the Moderna vaccine on June 21, 2021 in Tokyo.
Behrouz MEHRI AFP / Archivos
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
New contaminated batches of Moderna have been discovered in Japan, in the Okinawa region, in the very south of the archipelago.
The local authorities in turn decided to suspend the use of the vaccine.
A decision that comes the day after the opening of an investigation by the Japanese Ministry of Health after the death of two men who received injections of Moderna with impurities in some vials.
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With our correspondent in Tokyo,
Frédéric Charles
The regions of Okinawa and Gunma in Japan on Sunday, August 29, suspended injections of the
Moderna vaccine
against
Covid-19
after the discovery of new contaminated batches, local authorities announced.
At a vaccination center in Okinawa, black and pink substances were detected in syringes and vials of the vaccine.
The center was using different batches of the vaccine from those suspended a few days ago.
Japan had already decided on August 26 to suspend the use of 1.63 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, more than a week after its Japanese distributor Takeda received reports of the presence of impurities in some vials. of the product.
Investigation after the death of two men
On Saturday, the Ministry of Health announced the death of two men aged 30 and 38 who had received a second dose of Moderna vaccine in August from one of the three contaminated batches.
The ministry opened an investigation.
At this time, there is no evidence that the deaths were caused by the vaccine.
And the nature of the particles discovered in the vials, which were manufactured by a subcontractor of the American company in Europe, is not yet known.
According to Moderna, the contamination could be due to a manufacturing problem in one of its production units in Spain.
Japan's health ministry does not specify how many people received doses of the vaccine from contaminated batches.
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Japan
Coronavirus
Vaccines