Moderna said its Japanese distributor will recall doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Japan after an investigation revealed that stainless steel contaminants were discovered in some vials. Last week, Japanese health regulators suspended the use of three Moderna COVID-19 vaccine batches containing about 1.63 million doses after the contamination issue was discovered. On Wednesday, the ministry said that the stainless steel particulates would not cause any additional health risk, according to reports. A joint statement from Moderna and Takeda, which distributes the vaccines in Japan, said the contamination was traced back to the production run by Spanish contractor ROVI Pharma Industrial Services. The findings were discovered by an investigation carried out by the two companies, not the health ministry. “Stainless steel is routinely used in heart valves, joint replacements, and metal sutures and staples. As such, it is not expected that injection of the particles identified in these lots in …