Two men in Japan died this month after receiving potentially contaminated doses of the Modern vaccine, though officials said Saturday it is too early to draw a definitive conclusion on any connection.
Japan’s health ministry announced on Saturday that the two people, in their thirties, died days after receiving the second doses of the Modern vaccine, according to Reuters.
Health officials said each of the men reported having a fever the day after receiving the second dose, and that both died two days after falling with fever.
Although health officials told reporters there was no evidence to suggest that the shots the men received were contaminated, the doses were among the batches suspended by Japan on Thursday due to reports of contaminants on the roads.
The suspension included a total of approximately 1.63 million doses of the Modern vaccine.
Both Moderna officials and Japan said at the time that the decision was precautionary, noting that there were no dose-related issues at the time.
Modern i Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., which distributes the shot in Japan, said in a press release on Saturday that the death of the two men was “a tragic fact, “he added,” the loss of lives is something we take very seriously. ”
However, the companies noted that “they had no evidence that these deaths were caused by the Modern COVID-19 vaccine, and it is important to conduct a formal investigation to determine if there is any connection.”
Moderna and Takeda said they were working with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to investigate the deadly victims, adding that the investigation “is being conducted with the utmost sense of urgency, transparency and integrity and is of the top priority “.
“Takeda and Moderna will keep the public informed as we learn more,” they added.
The Japanese health ministry said Thursday that the doses, which reportedly contained unknown foreign substances in the vials, had already been sent to more than 800 vaccination sites across the country.
The department requested that health care centers and other vaccine distribution sites that receive potentially contaminated batches refrain from using them.
As of Saturday, approximately 44% of the Japanese population had been completely vaccinated against COVID-19, with a total of more than 124 million shots administered, according to Reuters.
Although the Japanese Ministry of Health previously reported that nearly 1,000 people in the country had died after receiving the shot of Pfizer-BioNTech and 11 after the inoculation of Moderna, there was no evidence to indicate that the injections contributed to the fatalities.