764,000 doses of this vaccine, distributed in several European countries, have been recalled.
- Each vial of Moderna vaccine contains 10 doses.
- It is marketed under the name Spikevax.
Pharmaceutical company Moderna has been forced to withdraw 765,000 doses of its coronavirus vaccine from the market after a mosquito was found inside a vial at a vaccination center in Malaga, reports the newspaper EL PAÍS. The recall was announced by the Spanish Public Health Agency AEMP.
Not detected
The batch concerned was produced in the factory that the Spanish pharmaceutical company ROVI, a strategic partner of Moderna, has in the municipality of San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid). In these facilities, the company carries out the filling and packaging of the vaccine, the active ingredient of which is produced in Basel (Switzerland). In addition to Spain, the recalled batch had also been distributed in Portugal, Poland, Norway and Sweden, countries which also alerted their respective health systems.
The Norwegian authorities provide further information on the malfunction: “Moderna’s preliminary conclusion is that a mosquito entered the vial during production and was not detected by routine checks”, they explain.
Second Incident
This is the second such incident involving Moderna vaccines. At the end of August, Japan had already declared that it had found “foreign bodies” in some vials of the serum (stainless steel particles had then been identified in the product). The incident affected three batches, resulting in the blocking of the distribution of more than 2.6 million doses.
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