TOKYO: Japan will halt the use of 1.63 million doses of Moderna鈥檚 Covid vaccine after reports of contamination in several lots, drugmaker Takeda and the health ministry said Thursday.
Takeda, which is in charge of sales and distribution of the Moderna shot in Japan, said it had 鈥渞eceived reports from several vaccination centers that foreign substances have been found inside unopened vials from specific lots.鈥�
鈥淯pon consultation with the health ministry, we have decided to suspend the use of the vaccine from the lot from August 26,鈥� it added.
The firm said it had informed Moderna and 鈥渞equested an urgent investigation.鈥�
Moderna did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Takeda did not detail the nature of the contamination, but said it had not so far received any reports of health concerns arising from affected doses.
The health ministry said it would work with Takeda to secure alternative doses to avoid disruption to the country鈥檚 vaccine program, which has ramped up after a slow start.
Around 43 percent of Japan鈥檚 population is currently fully vaccinated, but the country is battling a record surge of virus cases driven by the more contagious Delta variant.
Around 15,500 people have died from Covid-19 in the country during the pandemic, and large parts of Japan are under virus restrictions.