EU investigating Moderna vaccine contamination incident

FILE PHOTO: A health care worker fills a syringe with Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as California opens up vaccine eligibility to any residents 16 years and older during the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Chula Vista, California, U.S., April 15, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday it was investigating a contamination incident in the manufacturing of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to assess whether there was an impact on EU supply.

Earlier on Thursday Japan suspended the use of 1.63 million doses of Moderna vaccine, with the company saying contamination could be due to a manufacturing issue on one of the production lines at its contract manufacturing site in Spain.

"EMA is investigating the matter and has requested the marketing authorisation holder to provide information on any potential impact on batches supplied to the EU in addition to details on the ongoing root cause investigation," the agency said in a statement to Reuters.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio @fraguarascio; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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