Moderna Sent One Million Covid Vaccines Contaminated With Stainless Steel Particles To Japan | It has been confirmed by the American laboratory itself

After Japan suspend the use of more than 1.6 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine After detecting foreign substances, the American laboratory reported on Wednesday that “Contaminated batches contain stainless steel particles”. He also assured that does not expect this to be “a risk unsuitable for patient safety. “

In a joint statement with its Japanese partner Takeda, Moderna indicated contamination in one of the three suspended batches returns to production line failures of a factory run by its Spanish entrepreneur, ROVI Pharma Industrial Services.

“The rare presence of stainless steel particles in the modern covid-19 vaccine does not represent an undue risk to patient safety and does not adversely affect the risk / benefit profile of the product“the company said in the statement.

“Metal particles injected into a muscle may cause a localized reaction, but is unlikely to cause anything else», He clarified. In this sense, officials clarified that “stainless steel is commonly used in heart valves, joint prostheses, sutures and metal staples. As such, the injection of the particles identified in these batches in Japan should not lead to an increase in the medical risk. “

Despite these details, the US laboratory faces major legal proceedings in Japan, which not only had to suspend the distribution of more than 1.6 million doses, which were to be used in different parts of the country, but also he is also investigating the death of two men who received doses of this contaminated batch, although at present the cause of their death is unknown.

Regarding this last point, Moderna clarified that at this time, there is no evidence that the two deaths are related to the vaccine and “it is currently considered a coincidence.”

About 46% of the Japanese population was fully immune to the coronavirus, at a time when the country is experiencing a record increase in infections from the Delta variant, and is imposing severe restrictions in large parts of the country to stop the spread of the virus.

Risk for other countries?

ROVI, which packs Moderna vaccines for markets other than the United States, reported last week that the lot in question was intended for distribution in Japan only.

South Korea, which also receives Moderna vaccines produced at centers in the United States and Spain, said it was not affected and has not reported any abnormalities.