"Two Japanese Men Die After Second Moderna Vaccine Dose Due to 'Foreign Substance' Discovery... Causality Still Unclear"

Moderna vaccine.
Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] Amid growing controversy over foreign substances detected in Moderna vaccines distributed in Japan, it has been reported that a person died after receiving the vaccine.

On the 28th (local time), Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced in a statement that two men in their 30s died a few days after receiving two doses of the Moderna vaccine. According to the ministry's announcement, the vaccine the two men received was found to be one of the three batch numbers of vaccines whose administration was suspended after foreign substances were discovered. However, the causal relationship between the vaccination and the deaths of the two men has not yet been clearly established.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare had reported that 39 cases of foreign substance contamination in Moderna vaccines were reported in a total of eight locations, including Tokyo, Saitama Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Gifu Prefecture. Moderna explained that the foreign substances were particles that did not pose a safety risk, but currently in Japan, as a precautionary measure, vaccination with 1.63 million doses of vaccines from three batch numbers manufactured on the problematic production line at the Spanish factory has been suspended.

Additionally, on the 26th (local time), NHK reported citing government sources that "the foreign substances found in the vaccine reacted to magnets" and that "authorities suspect the foreign substances are metallic particles." However, a government official added that the exact nature of the foreign substances has not been confirmed and that it will take time to determine how many contaminated vaccines have been administered.

Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) revealed on the 27th (local time) that it was investigating the incident involving foreign substances in the Moderna vaccine. The EMA stated that it had requested information from the authorized bodies about whether the supplies distributed within the European Union (EU) were affected and details of the ongoing investigation into the cause.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in Korea stated that no products with the same batch numbers as the Moderna vaccines found to contain foreign substances in Japan have been detected domestically.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.