Japan is investigating the deaths of two men who received Moderna coronavirus vaccines from batches whose use has been suspended due to contamination, the health ministry said on Saturday.
The two men, aged 30 and 38, died in August after receiving a second dose of Moderna from one of three batches suspended by the government on Thursday, the ministry said in a statement.
The cause of their death is under investigation, the ministry said, adding that "the cause and effect link with vaccination is unknown at the moment."
The two men, who had a fever after being vaccinated, had no underlying health problems or a history of allergies, the ministry said.
Foreign bodies in sealed vials
Japan announced Thursday to suspend the use of 1.63 million doses of the Moderna vaccine against the coronavirus, after reports of the presence of impurities in some vials of this product.
These doses were reportedly sent to more than 800 vaccination centers across the country.
Takeda, which imports and distributes the American group's vaccine in the Japanese archipelago, said it had received "reports from several vaccination centers that foreign bodies were discovered" in unopened vials.
About 44% of the Japanese population has been fully vaccinated, as the country faces a record increase in the number of cases of the virus linked to the more contagious Delta variant.
More than 15,700 people have died from Covid-19 in the country, mostly subject to health restrictions in an attempt to stem the pandemic. But these remain limited and their effectiveness questionable, the coercive means of the government to impose them being limited.