Recall of a Moderna vaccine following contamination of stainless steel caused by “human error”

Human error was the cause of steel contamination found in some doses of Spanish-made Moderna vaccine earlier this year, according to a report.

In August, Japanese authorities ordered the recall of three batches of Moderna shots, equivalent to around 1.6 million doses, after stainless steel particles were discovered inside.

The shot was manufactured under a contract with the Madrid pharmaceutical company Rovi, then imported and distributed in Japan by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda.

After the contamination was discovered, a joint investigation was launched by Moderna, Takeda and Rovi, which found that the stainless steel contamination was due to poorly assembled machines putting caps on vaccine vials, Reuters reported earlier. in the day, citing the results.

According to the news agency, the report concluded that the problem was “due to human error specific to poor visual assessment” of a 1mm gap between two parts of the machine.

Rovi said the batch was only intended for distribution in Japan, while South Korea, which also received Moderna vaccines from Spain, said at the time it was unaffected. .

Japanese officials and Moderna said there were no safety concerns associated with the contamination. About 500,000 people received gunfire from the three suspended batches, Reuters reported in August.

The companies issued a joint statement stating that: “Metal particles of this size injected into a muscle may cause a local reaction, but are unlikely to cause other adverse effects beyond the local site of the muscle. injection, ”according to medical tech magazine. Pharmaceutical technology.

The companies added that the contamination did not adversely affect the benefits and risk profile of the vaccine.

Range of vaccines

Japan has also signed agreements for 120 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine, as well as 194 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, Pharmaceutical technology reported.

According to OurWorldInData, Japan has vaccinated about 70 percent of its total population, 60 percent of which is entirely.

This compares to a total vaccination rate of 64% in the US and 72% in the UK

On Tuesday this week, the Japanese government decided to lift its state of COVID emergency due to the drop in the number of COVID infections, effective Thursday.

Restrictions, such as restrictions on opening hours, should be eased in stages. As in the United States, the governors of each Japanese region, called prefectures, will be able to decide which measures should be maintained and which should be lifted.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga blamed vaccines for pushing Japan into a new, less restrictive phase of its epidemic, according to Kyodo News.