Moderna Inc. and its Japanese partner were withdrawing more than a million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the US pharmaceutical company after confirming that the contamination reported last week was produced with small particles of stainless steel.
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. is responsible for the sale and distribution of Moderna’s vaccine in Japan. The two companies said that an investigation at a Spanish plant that manufactured the vials in question concluded that the contamination occurred in the process of capping the vials.
On August 26, the companies announced the suspension of 1.63 million doses out of a production line following reports of contamination. Japanese authorities said that around half a million people had received injections from these Moderna vials before the problem appeared.
The setback comes at a time when Japan is trying to accelerate its vaccination campaign in the face of an upturn in infections that is saturating the country’s health system.
Officials from the pharmaceutical company and the Ministry of Health maintain that they do not believe that high-quality stainless steel poses health risks.
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