TOKYO – Japan today said an investigation will be launched after more than 1,000 coronavirus vaccine doses had to be thrown out when a freezer storing them malfunctioned.
A medical institution reported that 172 vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which must be kept at between -80°C and -60°C, were rendered useless after the freezer breakdown over the weekend, said the Health Ministry, wasting up to 1,032 doses.
Japan began its inoculation programme on February 17 – just over five months before the Tokyo Olympics – and has so far only approved the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
Government spokesman Katsunobu Kato today said the cause of the malfunction is not yet clear, but the firm that installed the freezer will investigate and report back.
He said Japan had installed around 100 vaccine freezers nationwide by end-February.
“We would like to respond quickly to whatever is necessary, based on the results of the investigation carried out by the company that installed it.”
Japan began vaccinating healthcare workers in the middle of last month, with the minister in charge of the process admitting he had “no idea” how much of the population will receive the jab before the Games, which will start on July 23.
As of yesterday, first doses had been administered to nearly 32,000 doctors and nurses, according to Taro Kono, the vaccine minister.
The country has reached deals with three major drug firms to buy enough doses for its population of 126 million.
But, it is also scrambling to secure enough special syringes needed to extract six full doses from each vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Japan is running a cautious roll-out programme, and planning to initially vaccinate 40,000 healthcare workers across the country, before administering jabs to around 3.7 million more this month.
Vaccination for around 36 million people aged 65 and older is set to start in April. – AFP, March 2, 2021
