TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st September, 2021) An analysis of a foreign substance discovered in some vials of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine in several Japanese prefectures has confirmed it to be stainless steel, media reported on Wednesday, citing the Japanese health ministry.
In late August, Japan halted the use of 1.63 million doses of the vaccine after tiny metal chips had been found in some portions of the drug. Two men reportedly died three days after receiving doses from the batch. This prompted the national Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., in charge of the vaccine's sale and distribution in the country, to launch a probe.
The health ministry published the results of the probe on Wednesday, the Japanese Kyodo news agency reported, saying that the substance was likely mixed in during the manufacturing process due to friction between two pieces of metal in the production line, which was caused by inappropriate set-up.
As of Sunday, the prefectures of Gunma, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Gifu, Aichi, Okinawa and Kanagawa said they had discovered foreign matter in vaccine vials, according to Kyodo.
