Japan Suspends 1.6 Mln Moderna's Covid-19 Vaccine Doses

(RTTNews) - Japan's health ministry has halted vaccinations using Moderna's (MRNA) Covid-19 vaccine after the discovery of "foreign substances."

According to the Japan Times, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Thursday that the government has decided to suspend use of some 1.63 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine due to the discovery of foreign materials in one batch.

"I've received a report from the health ministry saying that it will not have a big impact," Suga told reporters. "I have instructed the health ministry that safety is the top priority."

Suga said that the temporary halt will have little impact on its national vaccine rollout plans. However, the incident will be another hurdle for Japan's goal to vaccinated 80% of all residents with 2 doses by early October.

The health ministry said that the foreign substance had been identified in 39 vials, all of which had the lot number 3004667, at eight workplace and large-scale inoculation sites in five prefectures, which includes Aichi, Ibaraki, Gifu, Saitama and Tokyo. The ministry has decided to no longer use the around 570,000 doses with the lot number.

Further, the Japanese government has also suspended the use of 1.06 million doses with the lot numbers 3004734 and 3004956 as a precaution. The vaccine vials were reportedly produced in Spain.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., which is in charge of distribution in Japan on behalf of Moderna, said it is working with the health ministry to supply replacement vials to minimize the impact on the vaccination rollout.

As of Tuesday, 42.6% of the nation's residents had been fully vaccinated, according to Cabinet Office data.