Moderna Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd on Wednesday said they are working with Japanese authorities to recall three batches of COVID-19 vaccine after an investigation found stainless steel contaminants in some vials.
Authorities had suspended use of the three batches of Moderna shots containing 1.63 million doses last week after being notified of the contamination issue.
The health ministry said on Wednesday, based on information from the companies' investigation, that it did not believe the particles of stainless steel posed any additional health risk. Moderna said the stainless steel contamination probably occurred during production.