Japan Announces To Stop Using AstraZeneca CCP Virus Vaccine

On September 30, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced the suspension of the British AstraZeneca CCP virus vaccine. Only about 200,000 doses of 120 million doses from AstraZeneca contracted by the Japanese government for procurement two years ago have been administered.

It is reported that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare agreed in December 2020 to buy 120 million CCP virus vaccine doses from AstraZeneca, originally intended for use as the first and second doses in the country, but because of the large number of cases of adverse reactions to blood clots reported in Japan and abroad, the number of vaccinations administered in Japan did not increase. The overall administered dose was only about 200,000, the remaining 62.3 million doses were canceled, 44 million doses were given to other countries free of charge, and 13.5 million doses were discarded. The initial vaccination payment for cancellation will be refunded to the Japanese government after deducting the necessary expenses.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s business manager said that previously they did not know which pharmaceutical companies would be able to successfully develop a vaccine for the CCP virus, they negotiated and contracted with several pharmaceutical companies, and that the destruction of some vaccine was an inevitable option.