[ad_1]
By Manojna Maddipatla and Nikhil Kurian Nainan | Reuters
Moderna Inc has suspended the supply of about 1.63 million doses in Japan after being informed of the contamination of its COVID-19 vaccine vials with particles, the U.S. vaccine maker said on Wednesday.
The contamination, the company said, could be due to a manufacturing problem at one of the production lines at its contract manufacturing site in Spain.
The batch with complaints had 565,400 doses and “out of caution” Moderna put the batch and two adjacent ones on hold.
“To date, no safety or efficacy issues have been identified,” Moderna said, adding that he would work with his partner Takeda Pharmaceutical as well as with regulators to resolve the issue.
Takeda said it carried out an emergency examination after particles were found in numerous vials of vaccine at an inoculation site.
The Health Department said Thursday morning it had decided to withdraw some doses as a precautionary measure after consulting with Takeda, but would work to minimize the impact of the withdrawal on its vaccination plans.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday that around 60% of the population will be fully vaccinated by the end of September and that the country has enough vaccines to provide booster doses if such a decision is made.
Nikkei first reported the news of the contaminated vials, citing the Department of Health.
[ad_2]
Source link