No fewer than two persons have been reported dead after being administered the second jab of Covid-19 vaccine brand, Moderna, by health experts in Japan.
The two persons were discovered by health experts to have been administered brands of the vaccines that were already contaminated before their arrival into the country.
As gathered, the deceased people, both men in their 30s, passed on within days of getting inoculated with the second dose of Moderna vaccines.
Close associates to the deceased narrated that both had a fever the day after receiving the second dose and died two days later following the fever.
Following the development on Saturday, the Japanese government has put the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine brand on hold to avoid further deaths across the country.
The two men, it was learnt, had received a shot from one of the three manufacturing lots of the coronavirus vaccines that were suspended. Their deaths are being probed.
This development comes after Japan on Thursday suspended the use of a total of 1.63 million doses of Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccines – over a week after the domestic distributor, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co, got reports of contamination in some of the vials.
However, both Takeda and Moderna insisted on carrying out a formal investigation to determine the connection. “At this time, we do not have any evidence that these deaths are caused by the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine,” the companies said in a statement made available to newsmen.
Following the suspension of vaccine doses, both Moderna and Japan said that no efficacy or safety issue had been spotted and that the move was just a precautionary measure.
