Investing.com – Moderna stock (NASDAQ:MRNA) traded 1.7% lower as the company’s woes in Japan deepened on the suspension of another million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, after foreign substances were found in more batches.
The discovery of contaminated batches has led to the suspension of as many as 2.6 million doses of the company's 'messenger RNA'-based vaccine and comes as the world’s third largest economy battles its worst wave of the pandemic.
Daily infections are now exceeding 25,000 amid a slow rollout of vaccinations. However, the rolling seven-day average for new infections fell for the first time since June last week, suggesting that the current wave may be cresting.
The latest reports of vaccine contamination came from Gunma prefecture near Tokyo and the southern prefecture of Okinawa.
Other vials from the lots can continue to be used, the ministry said on Monday.
The contamination cases followed a government report on Saturday that two people died after receiving Moderna shots that were among lots later suspended, the Reuters report said.