Moderna vaccines are prepared for application at a United States military vaccination centre at Camp Foster on April 28, 2021 in Ginowan, Japan.
Carl Court | Getty Images
More than 1.6 million doses of the Moderna vaccine were suspended in Japan on Thursday following reports of contaminated vials at multiple vaccination sites there.
Unspecified foreign matter was spotted in about 40 unused vials across eight vaccination sites in Japan over the last ten days, according to local public broadcaster NHK.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals, which is distributing the vaccine in Japan for Moderna, said it pulled the vials after consulting with Japan’s Ministry of Health.
“We received reports from multiple inoculation sites that there were foreign substances in unused vials for a specific lot, and immediately requested Moderna, which manufactures this vaccine, to conduct an urgent investigation into these foreign substances and causes,” Takeda said in a statement.
Moderna said in two statements that it’s been notified of the problem and is investigating the matter.
“The company is investigating the reports and remains committed to working expeditiously with its partner, Takeda, and regulators to address this,” Moderna wrote in another statement.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Katsunobu KatoSome, told reporters Thursday that contaminated doses were administered to an unknown number of Japanese residents, though there have been no reports of ill effects, according to the New York Times.
All of the contaminated vials were made at manufacturing sites in Spain. It is still unclear if other countries besides Japan have been affected, though the European Medicines Agency said it’s also investigating the issue.
“EMA is investigating the matter and has requested the marketing authorisation holder to provide information on any potential impact on batches supplied to the EU in addition to details on the ongoing root cause investigation,” the agency said in a statement to Reuters.
