Moderna jabs in PH not contaminated; procurement continuous

MANILA – None of the country’s Moderna coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines are contaminated, the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed Saturday.

This came after Japan suspended the use of about 1.63 million doses of the American-made vaccines after detecting “foreign substances” in some of its vials.

“Here in the Philippines, we inspect lahat po ng batches ng bakuna bago natin gamitin at wala tayong nakitang ganyang kontaminasyon sa mga na-deliver na Moderna (we inspect all the batches of vaccines we receive before we use them and we did not see any contamination on those delivered by Moderna),” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a Laging Handa briefing.

Vergeire likewise assured that the government has strict protocols to ensure that all vaccines shipments are intact and safe for use.

Japan’s Health Ministry earlier said the suspension was a precautionary measure and that Moderna is now conducting an investigation into the presence of foreign substances.

The 1.63 million doses were reportedly produced in the “same production line at the same time in Spain”.

Japanese authorities said a portion of the doses distributed to 863 vaccination centers had already been used “but no health damages have been reported yet.”