Moderna vaccine contamination widen in Japan

Moderna vaccine contamination has widened in Japan with another million doses being temporarily suspended.

Previously millions of Moderna shots were suspended for use after foreign materials were found in batches.

So far, two people have died following shots from affected lots.

The suspension of Moderna supplies comes as Japan fights its worst wave of coronavirus yet, due to the contagious Delta variant.

Japan has reported new daily infections surpassing 25,000 this month for the first time amidst an unhurried vaccine drive.

Currently, the reports of vaccine contamination came from Gunma prefecture near Tokyo and the southern prefecture of Okinawa, which stimulated the suspension of two more lots in addition to the 1.63 million doses that were already drawn out last week.

“A tiny black substance was found in a Moderna vaccine vial in Gunma”, an official from the prefecture said, while in Okinawa, “black substances were spotted in syringes and a vial, and pink material was found in a different syringe”.

Whereas Japan’s health ministry has claimed that some of the events may have occurred due to the injection needles being erroneously inserted into vials, breaking off bits of the rubber stopper.

Other ampoules from the vaccine lots can continue to be used, the ministry said on Monday.

The contamination cases were followed by a government report that two people died after getting Moderna jabs that were a part of suspended lots.

The government that the suspension is precautionary and no safety or effectiveness issues had been recognized.

Whereas the causes of 2 death are being investigated.

“It is unlikely, in my opinion, that contamination of foreign substances led directly to sudden deaths,” said Takahiro Kinoshita, a physician, and vice-chair of Cov-Navi, a vaccine information group.

“If the contaminated substances were dangerous enough to cause death for some people, probably many more people would have suffered from some symptoms after the vaccination.”

“However, further investigations are definitely needed to evaluate the harm of the particular doses in question.”