Freezer firm to launch probe after Japan COVID-19 vaccines spoiled

2/3/2021 15:13

        Japan says an investigation would 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 between -80 and -60 degrees centigrade, were rendered useless after the freezer breakdown over the weekend, Japan's health ministry said, wasting up to 1,032 doses.
        
        Japan began its inoculation programme on Feb 17 - just more than five months before the Tokyo Olympics - and has so far only approved the Pfizer-BioNTech drug.
        
        Japanese government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said on Tuesday that the cause of the malfunction was not yet clear, but the firm that installed the freezer would investigate and report back.
        
        Kato said Japan had installed around 100 vaccine freezers nationwide by the end of February.