Japan: Black specks found in Moderna vaccine

A Japanese pharmacist has found black specks inside a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, according to officials.

Over 3,500 people have already received the vaccine out of the batch that has since been put on hold.

Two people had reportedly died after receiving the Moderna shot in Japan, raising fears over the level of contamination.

The authorities had suspended its use about 5 days ago and over 1.5m doses have since been put on hold.

The pharmacist had found the specks while checking for foreign substances in the vaccine, and just last week, Japan’s Moderna distributor, Takeda Pharmaceutical had put over two batches on hold after similar substances were found in over 500,000 vials.

Two causes are suspected to have been behind the contamination. One is related to the packaging and the other on how the needle is inserted into the vial.

The Spanish firm that bottles the vaccine has come out and suggests its Spanish manufacturing line may be at fault, and according to the Japanese health ministry, the vials found with particles inside in Okinawa Prefecture had healthcare professionals insert needles incorrectly.

The growing number of deaths related to Moderna jabs is raising fears over the quality of the bottling.

With people worried that the vaccine itself may be safe but the bottle its packed in might be contaminated.

It is also raising fears over the quality of Japan’s state of the art healthcare system. The vaccines may have been distributed without proper checks in order to combat the spread of COVID which increased because of the Olympics and Paralympics.