<p>A contaminant was found in Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine on Sunday in Japan's Gunma prefecture, near Tokyo, the latest such case in the country involving the U.S. company's vaccines. A tiny, black substance was found in a Moderna Inc vaccine vial, prompting the prefecture to suspend inoculation using vaccines from the Moderna lot from which the vial had come, a Gunma prefecture official said.</p>.<p>Japan's health ministry said on Saturday two people died after receiving Moderna's vaccine shots that were among lots later suspended following the discovery of contaminants.</p>.<p>The government had said that no safety or efficacy issues had been identified and that the suspension was a precaution. The causes of death are being investigated.</p>.<p>Last week, Japan halted the use of 1.63 million Moderna doses, shipped to 863 vaccination centres nationwide, after the domestic distributor, Takeda Pharmaceutical, received reports of contaminants in some vials.</p>.<p>Moderna and Spanish pharma company Rovi, which bottles Moderna vaccines for markets other than the United States, had said at the time that the contamination could be due to a manufacturing issue in one of Rovi's production lines.</p>.<p>The vaccine in question in Gunma is from a Moderna lot that is different from those whose use has already been suspended, the Gunma official said.</p>.<p>Vaccines from the same lot have been administered to 4,575 people in Gunma, but the prefecture has heard no reports of ill health, the official said.</p>.<p>Contaminants were found in Moderna vaccines in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa, as well.</p>
<p>A contaminant was found in Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine on Sunday in Japan's Gunma prefecture, near Tokyo, the latest such case in the country involving the U.S. company's vaccines. A tiny, black substance was found in a Moderna Inc vaccine vial, prompting the prefecture to suspend inoculation using vaccines from the Moderna lot from which the vial had come, a Gunma prefecture official said.</p>.<p>Japan's health ministry said on Saturday two people died after receiving Moderna's vaccine shots that were among lots later suspended following the discovery of contaminants.</p>.<p>The government had said that no safety or efficacy issues had been identified and that the suspension was a precaution. The causes of death are being investigated.</p>.<p>Last week, Japan halted the use of 1.63 million Moderna doses, shipped to 863 vaccination centres nationwide, after the domestic distributor, Takeda Pharmaceutical, received reports of contaminants in some vials.</p>.<p>Moderna and Spanish pharma company Rovi, which bottles Moderna vaccines for markets other than the United States, had said at the time that the contamination could be due to a manufacturing issue in one of Rovi's production lines.</p>.<p>The vaccine in question in Gunma is from a Moderna lot that is different from those whose use has already been suspended, the Gunma official said.</p>.<p>Vaccines from the same lot have been administered to 4,575 people in Gunma, but the prefecture has heard no reports of ill health, the official said.</p>.<p>Contaminants were found in Moderna vaccines in Japan's southern prefecture of Okinawa, as well.</p>