Japanese Authorities Find Contaminated Moderna Vaccine, There Are Black Particles

Moderna vaccine illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Senior Airman Eugene Oliver)

JAKARTA - Japanese authorities have again found Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine that is contaminated with foreign substances, amid public concerns that the vaccine will be contaminated.

The discovery of the contaminated vaccine this time in Kanagawa Prefecture was followed by a delay in administering the remaining doses of the vaccine. In a statement on Tuesday, the prefectural authority said a pharmacist found some black particles in one vial after checking for foreign substances before using the vaccine.

Japan suspended the use of 1.63 million doses of Moderna's injections last week, after being alerted to contamination in some supplies. Moderna and Spanish pharmaceutical companies Rovi, which bottle Moderna's vaccine, said the cause could be a manufacturing problem. This led European security regulators to have launched an investigation.

Separately, Moderna said no safety or efficacy issues have been identified with the issue.

Kanagawa Prefecture said the vaccine's domestic distributor, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., has collected vials of suspected contaminants and about 3.790 people have received injections from the same lot.

More Moderna vaccines were temporarily suspended in two other regions this week. In some cases, foreign substances have been found in unused bottles, whereas in others it appears to be caused when part of the rubber stopper of the vial breaks when the needle is inserted incorrectly.

Meanwhile, Takeda did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Kanagawa incident. The company posted a notice on its website on Wednesday that said, on rare occasions during manufacturing, rubber stopper material may be mixed into the COVID-19 vaccine solution.

"Medical staff is advised to perform a visual inspection of the vial for discoloration or foreign material prior to use", the notice said.

To note, Japan's Ministry of Health has decided to withdraw some doses as a precaution after consulting Takeda but said it would seek to minimize the impact of the recall on its proposed COVID-19 vaccination program.

Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said there were no reported cases of health problems related to contaminated injections.