Over 7,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been disposed of in Japan due to mishandling, the Yomiuri newspaper said, as Japan races to inoculate its people amid a fourth wave of coronavirus infections.

A hospital and a mass vaccination centre each had to dispose of some 1,000 doses of the Pfizer Inc vaccine because they expired at room temperature, while 12 doses went to waste at a ward in Tokyo because of over-dilution, a survey by the daily found.

Omuta National Hospital in the southwestern prefecture of Fukuoka apologised in a statement, saying, “We hugely regret having to dispose of the precious vaccine due to our mismanagement, when many local residents are eager to get vaccinated.”