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Japan pulls 1.6 million COVID vaccine doses over contamination fear as COVID's spread causes heartache, Paralympic anxiety
Leaders tell anxious residents the already-lagging vaccination program won't be disrupted, as COVID's resurgence causes heartache and Paralympic angst.
www.cbsnews.com
Japan pulls 1.6M COVID vaccine doses over contamination fear as COVID's spread causes heartache, Paralympic anxiety
Tokyo — Japan's Health Ministry has pulled about 1.63 million doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine out of use after 39 unused vials at eight vaccination sites were discovered to be contaminated with a still-unspecified substance. No safety issues have been reported. All of the suspect vials were manufactured in Spain.
Moderna has been sent primarily to mass-vaccination centers in Japan, such as universities and large companies, and it was unclear how badly the incident might set back Japan's already-delayed inoculation campaign. More than 800 vaccination sites were affected.
Touring a vaccination clinic in Tokyo's Sumida Ward on Thursday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told Japanese media that he'd ordered health officials to "make safety our top priority" in responding to the tainted vaccine issue. He offered assurances that the incident "would not have a significant impact" on the country's vaccination program, which lags significantly behind those of other major industrialized nations.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (C) and his wife Mariko Suga meet with first lady Jill Biden (L) at the Akasaka State Guest House in Tokyo on July 22, 2021 on the eve of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
STR/JAPAN POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Suga, whose popularity has taken a beating over his handling of the pandemic, stands for re-election to the ruling party presidency on September 29. The leader of the governing party automatically becomes prime minister in Japan.
One of Suga's rivals, former foreign minister Fumio Kishida, threw his hat in the ring on Thursday, suggesting he would take more aggressive measures to fight the spread of COVID-19.
As of Wednesday, according to the Prime Minister's Office, only 42.6% of Japan's general population was fully vaccinated.
While Japan has also approved both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, concerns over blood clot issues delayed rollout of the latter until this week; it is being restricted to those 40 and over, as in Britain.