On Mar. 16, 2022, Moderna announced an agreement with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan to supply Japan with an additional 70 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 booster vaccine or an updated booster vaccine candidate, if authorized, for anticipated delivery in the second half of 2022.

This agreement was subject to the Ministry securing a budget for the additional supply. In 2022, 93 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine were contracted for supply to Japan, with the potential for this to increase to 163 million doses with this new agreement.

In May last year, the Japanese ministry granted special approval for the emergency use of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine is intended for active immunisation for the prevention of Covid-19. A booster dose of the vaccine is intended to be administered a minimum of six months following the second dose in individuals aged 18 years and above.

Moderna announced in October 2020 that the MHLW and Takeda Pharmaceutical agreed to procure and supply 50 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine. The vaccine will be manufactured and delivered by Moderna under the agreement while Takeda will handle the regulatory approvals for vaccine supply in the country.

In February, Moderna entered a new supply agreement to deliver an additional 10.8 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, Spikevax, to the Government of Colombia. The Colombian National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA) had granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the vaccine for active immunisation regarding the prevention of Covid-19 in individuals aged 12 years and older.