The Japanese region of Okinawa suspended the use of Moderna’s corona vaccine on Sunday after new infected batches were discovered. This is reported by the local authorities.
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The decision comes a day after the Japanese Ministry of Health launched an investigation into the deaths of two men. The thirty-somethings had had their second corona shot from Moderna a few days before their death. There is currently no evidence that those doses were contaminated. The authorities withdrew three batches of vaccines from circulation on Thursday as a precaution. The more than 1.6 million doses had already been sent to 863 vaccination centers.
It is not yet known with which substances the vaccines are contaminated. The doses are manufactured in Europe by a Moderna subcontractor. “The vials have been sent to a lab for analysis and the first findings will be available early next week,” Moderna reports.
The US company suspects the problem is due to a production line at its Spanish subcontractor, Rovi, which produces its vaccines for markets outside the US.
About 44 percent of the Japanese population is currently fully vaccinated. The Asian country has been dealing with an increase in corona infections since July.
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