Japan today suspended the use of 1,63 million doses of Moderna vaccines against it COVID-19, more than a week after reports were received by the local vaccine distribution company about impurities in some vials. Japan and Moderna emphasized that no safety or efficacy issues had been identified and that the suspension was only for precautionary reasons.
However, this move prompted several Japanese companies to cancel the vaccinations of their employees that were planned for today. "Moderna confirms that it has been informed of cases in which particles have been found in the vials of its vaccine against COVID-19", Moderna states in its announcement. "The company is investigating the reports and maintains its commitment to rapid cooperation with its partner, Takeda, and regulators to address this issue," the company added, citing Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical.
A Japanese health ministry official said Takeda was first informed of the contaminated doses on August 16 and reported the matter to the government on Wednesday. The delay was due to the fact that Takeda needed time to gather information on which vials were involved and where they were located in the country, according to the official.
Moderna clarified that this contamination may be due to a construction problem on one of the production lines at its manufacturing plant in Spain. The suspension is a new setback for the company, whose partners faced production delays last month that disrupted supply supplies to countries including South Korea.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Moderna and Spain's Rovi, which bottles Moderna vaccines for markets outside the United States, have not yet responded to Reuters requests for comment. The Japanese Ministry of Defense, which operates a mass vaccination center in Osaka, said doses of the batch, which includes 565.400 doses, were used in the western county between August 6 and 20, but did not say how many people were affected.
Moderna noted that "for reasons of maximum precaution" it retained the lot and two other adjacent ones. Takeda also announced that it had carried out an emergency examination following the detection of particles in a batch of vaccine vials at a vaccination center in Japan. The Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga said today that the country's vaccination program will not be much affected by this issue.
Yesterday, Wednesday, he had stated that about 60% of the population would have been fully vaccinated by the end of September and that the country has enough vaccines to provide boosting doses if such a decision is made. The head of the cabinet, Katsunobu Kato, noted that no cases of health problems were reported in relation to the contaminated doses administered. Japan Airlines also announced that it had canceled some vaccinations of its employees today, as it had received Moderna vaccines with particulate matter.
Its airline competitor, ANA, said about 4.700 doses of the Moderna retained vaccine had been used and that it would discontinue all vaccinations scheduled for today.
Japan is facing the worst wave of new coronavirus since the pandemic broke out, due to the Delta strain, with the number of new cases detected on a daily basis exceeding 25.000 for the first time this month. Japan has vaccinated 54% of its population with at least one dose and fully 43%, according to a Reuters vaccination tracking system.