Japan decides to suspend Moderna's Covid vaccine after two deaths
Follow UsStory highlights
Two men in their 30s died within few days of receiving second dose of the Moderna vaccine, Japan’s health ministry reported a couple of days back
After the death of two men following the second dose of Moderna’s Covid vaccine, Japan has decided to suspend use of Moderna Inc vaccine.
Japan’s Okinawa region has decided to suspend the use of Moderna’s Covid vaccine as another contamination was spotted by experts, the local government announced.
"We are suspending the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines as foreign substances were spotted in some of them," the government announced in a statement.
Two men in their 30s died within few days of receiving second dose of the Moderna vaccine, Japan’s health ministry reported a couple of days back.
The government has launched an investigation into the matter as the cause of death was not completely clear, and the officials wanted to steer clear of drawing a relation between vaccine and the deaths.
"At this time, we do not have any evidence that these deaths are caused by the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine," Moderna and Takeda said in a statement on Saturday. "It is important to conduct a formal investigation to determine whether there is any connection."
The doses that allegedly led to the death of the two men in Japan were from a contaminated batch that was later pulled off from distribution from around the country.
"The vials have been sent to a qualified lab for analysis and initial findings will be available early next week," Moderna and its Japanese distributor Takeda said.
Meanwhile, Japan is battling a surge in coronavirus cases caused by the Delta variant as only 44 per cent of the Japan’s eligible population has been vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus pandemic.