Modern vaccine contaminant suspected to be metal particles -NHK

TOKYO, Aug 27 (Reuters) – A contaminant found in a batch of COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) delivered to Japan is believed to be a metal particle, the Japanese public broadcaster reported. NHK, citing health ministry sources.

Japan on Thursday suspended the use of 1.63 million doses shipped to 863 vaccination centers nationwide, more than a week after national distributor Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502.T) received reports of contaminants on some roads.

The NHK report, released Thursday afternoon, quoted ministry sources as saying the particle reacted to the magnets and was therefore suspected to be a metal. Modern has described it as “particles” that posed no safety or efficacy issues.

A health ministry official said the identity of the contaminant has not been confirmed.

News of the pollutant could be a further setback for Japanese inoculation, as it struggles to convince many, especially among young people, to get vaccinated.

On Friday, eight more prefectures went into a state of emergency, prompting a total of 80% of the Japanese population under COVID-19-related restrictions. The government reported about 25,000 new infections and serious cases in a record 2,000 by Thursday.

The ministry has said the suspension of Moderna batches was a precaution, but the move prompted several Japanese companies to cancel workers’ vaccines and the European drug regulator to launch an investigation.

The Spanish pharmaceutical company Rovi (ROVI.MC), which packs Modern vaccines for different markets in the United States, said the contamination could be due to a manufacturing problem on a production line and that it was conducting an investigation.

Modern put the lot in question and two adjacent ones waiting.

A separate health ministry official said it would take “some time” to confirm how many features of the contaminated batch had already been administered in Japan. Kyodo News reported that at least 176,000 shots have been used based on its own count of figures reported by local municipalities.

So far, about 54 percent of the Japanese population has received at least one dose, according to a Reuters tracker.

Reports of Chang-Ran Kim and Rocky Swift; Edited by Jacqueline Wong, Jane Wardell and Gerry Doyle

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