Angst grows in Japan as tainted doses found again

TOKYO－Japan's Okinawa Prefecture suspended the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday after more contamination had been found, the local government said.

It comes a day after the Japanese health ministry said it was investigating the deaths of two men who received shots from tainted Moderna batches, though the cause of their deaths is unknown.

The Okinawa government said Sunday's vaccination program was partially postponed.

"We are suspending the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine as foreign substances were spotted in some of them," it said in a statement.

The vaccine doses affected by the contamination spotted in Okinawa on Saturday are different to the 1.63 million doses suspended after the two deaths, according to local media reports.

The suspension came after the health ministry said two men, aged 30 and 38, died early this month after getting their second Moderna doses.

The doses were drawn from one of three batches suspended by the government on Thursday after several vials were found to be contaminated.

However, the ministry said it was investigating the cause of the deaths, and it is unknown if there is a causal link with the vaccine.

More than 15,800 people have died from COVID-19 in Japan, and large parts of the country are under strict virus restrictions.

Taro Kono, the minister in charge of the vaccine rollout, promised on Sunday that the country aims to fully vaccinate its population by October or November.

"Japan is aiming for 80 percent vaccination levels," Kono said on a show on national broadcaster Fuji TV.

Japan has lagged behind some developed nations on vaccinations. Around 44 percent of Japan's population have been fully vaccinated, and the country continues to battle a record surge of coronavirus cases driven by the more contagious Delta variant.

World record

In the city state of Singapore, 80 percent of its 5.7 million people have been fully inoculated against COVID-19, said the health minister on Sunday, becoming the world's most vaccinated country and setting the stage for further easing of curbs.

"We have crossed another milestone, where 80 percent of our population have received their full regimen of two doses," said Ong Ye Kung in a Facebook post.

That gives the country the world's highest rate of complete vaccinations, according to a Reuters tracker.

Authorities have said they will further ease COVID-19 restrictions after hitting the 80-percent milestone.

In Australia, the country logged a record 1,323 cases on Sunday as debate raged on whether the country should start living with the virus in the community, after initially being successful with suppressing the virus.

The most populous state New South Wales, the epicenter of the nation's Delta-fueled outbreak, reported 1,218 cases as authorities there are set to slightly ease restrictions after nine weeks in lockdown.

Agencies - Xinhua