Japan ends distribution of AstraZeneca COVID vaccines with the last of the shots destroyed

Japan has discarded some 13.5 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, as all of the remaining shots supplied by the British pharmaceutical company have expired, the health ministry announced on Sept. 30, according to Japan’s leading daily newspaper, The Mainichi , October 1, 2022.

“Japan is officially ending the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the report said, while explaining that the Japanese government had signed up to purchase 120 million doses of the product in December 2020.

Only 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot were distributed to local governments, of which just 120,000 were actually administered, Mainichi reported.

So why were only 1% of the 120 million doses used, what happened to the other 99%, and how much of Japanese taxpayer money wasted on these allegedly lifesaving vaccines will actually be paid back?

“Based on the confidentiality agreement with the drug maker, the government has not disclosed the purchase price or how much they will be refunded for the canceled doses,” the Mainichi report says.

Taiwan’s health authorities have also refused to disclose how much taxpayer money they have handed over to pharmaceutical companies for the alleged vaccines. Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare has classified the COVID-19 vaccine procurement data confidential for a period of 30 years.

While big-tech censorship of search results makes it difficult to find the truth of why Japan only distributed a small proportion of the the AstraZeneca shots to its own population, according to Taiwan’s Apple Daily, “Japan originally planned to purchase 1.2 doses of the AZ vaccine, but decided to suspend the use due to adverse reactions reported abroad. 44 million doses were transferred to other countries, including Taiwan.”

Other than the 200,000 doses distributed in Japan, the rest were either returned, donated, or destroyed, the Apple Daily report said.

The Apple Daily report claims that Japan was delivered 57.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot, originally intending to use it as the first and second doses, but due to reports of adverse reactions, including thrombosis (blood clots), Japan cancelled the 62.3 million doses that had not yet been delivered.

In June 2021, Japan launched “vaccine diplomacy” and provided 44 million doses of AZ vaccine to Taiwan, Vietnam and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for free, because all of these countries were in urgent need of vaccines at that time.

In a Presidential Office press release, September 7, 2021, Presidential Office Spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said that the Presidential Office is again sincerely grateful for Japan’s timely and continued assistance.

“Including today’s shipment of 64,000 doses, the Japanese government has now donated over 3.4 million vaccine doses to Taiwan,” Chang said.

According to these reports, of 120 million doses of AstraZeneca ordered and purchased by the Japanese government, using Japanese taxpayer’s money, 120,000 doses (1%) were actually administered to Japanese people, 44 million doses were “donated” to other countries, 62.3 million doses were cancelled, and the rest were destroyed after expiry.

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