Japan has put a batch of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine on hold following the discovery of foreign substances in more batches.
The move came after a pharmacist saw several black particles in one vial of the vaccine in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The pharmacist found the black particles while checking for foreign substances before the vaccine’s use.
Some 3,790 people had already received shots from the batch.
However, the rest of the batch has now been put on hold.
It comes less than a week after Japan suspended the use of about 1.63 million Moderna doses due to contamination.
On Tuesday, Japan’s health minister said foreign matter found in jabs in the southern prefecture of Okinawa were due to needles being incorrectly inserted into vials.
Japan is battling a spike in Covid cases while it hosts the Paralympic Games.
Its vaccination roll-out has been relatively slow, with just over 40% of Japanese people fully vaccinated and around 50% having received one dose.
First Death Linked to Pfizer
New Zealand has reported its first death linked to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
The health ministry has declared that a woman suffered a rare heart muscle inflammation side effect after receiving her first batch of vaccination.
“This is the first case … where a death in the days following the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccination,” the health ministry said.
However, the authorities did not declare the official cause of death.
The Covid-19 Vaccine Independent Safety Monitoring Board said the woman’s death was “probably” due to myocarditis.
It also noted there were other medical issues which could have “influenced the outcome following vaccination”.
