Japan puts on hold Moderna jab after black particles found

Meanwhile, employees undergo rapid antigen tests on the day of shops reopening at Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok, on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

Japan has put on hold a batch of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine after a pharmacist saw several black particles in one vial of the vaccine. The pharmacist saw some foreign substance in one vial of the vaccine in Kanagawa Prefecture while checking it before use, according to authorities.

Some 3,790 people had already received shots from the batch. The rest of the batch has now been put on hold, reports the BBC. Earlier, Japan suspended the use of about 1.63 million Moderna doses due to contamination.

Takeda Pharmaceutical, which sells and distributes the vaccine in Japan, had last week put three batches of the vaccine on hold after "foreign materials" were found
in some doses.

Japan's Health Minister Norihisa Tamura on Tuesday said that the foreign matter found in Moderna Inc COVID-19 vaccines in the southern prefecture of Okinawa were caused likely when needles where stuck into the vials.

Philippines' COVID caseload crosses 2 mn

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France starts giving booster shots

France on Wednesday started administering booster shots of COVID-19 vaccine to people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions to shore up their vaccine protection, as the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading in the country. People can get the shot on condition a minimum six-month period has passed since they got fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab can get a booster shot of Pfizer or Moderna at least four weeks after they first got vaccinated.

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