TOKYO (AP) – Japan launched coronavirus vaccination campaign on Wednesday, after other major economies began firing amid questions about whether the action would reach enough people fast enough to save. Summer Olympics already postponed by the pandemic.
Despite a recent rise in infections, Japan has largely avoided the kind of cataclysm that has hit the economies, social networks and health systems of other rich countries. But the fate of the Olympics and the billions of dollars at stake make Japan’s vaccination campaign crucial. Japanese officials are also well aware that rival China, which has managed to defeat the virus, will host the Winter Olympics next year, boosting the desire to make the Tokyo Games happen.
Japan’s launch lagged behind other places because it asked vaccine manufacturer Pfizer to conduct clinical trials with the Japanese, in addition to tests already conducted in six other nations – part of an effort to address concerns in a country with low confidence in the vaccine.
That long-standing reluctance to get vaccines – usually due to fears of rare side effects – as well as concerns about the lack of imported vaccines now hangs over the launch, which will provide first health care workers, then the elderly and vulnerable. , and then, possibly in late spring or early summer, the rest of the population.
Medical workers say vaccinations will help protect them and their families, and business leaders hope the momentum will allow economic activity to return to normal. But the late launch will make it impossible for the herd’s so-called immunity to reach 127 million people before the Olympics begin in July, experts say.
This will allow struggling officials to stifle widespread caution – and even direct opposition – among citizens to hosting the Games. About 80% of those surveyed in recent press polls support the subsequent cancellation or postponement of the Olympics.
Despite this, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and others in his government continue the Olympic plans, declaring the Games “proof of human victory against the pandemic.”
Japan did not see the massive outbreaks that hit the United States and many European countries, but an increase in cases in December and January raised concerns and led to a partial state of emergency that includes calls for early closure of restaurants and bars. Suga saw his support drop below 40% from about 70% when he took office in September, with many saying he was too slow to impose restrictions and too cowardly.
The country now has an average of about 1 infection per 100,000 people – compared to 24.5 in the United States or 18 in the United Kingdom. Overall, Japan recorded about 420,000 cases and 7,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
On Wednesday, in a room full of journalists, Dr. Kazuhiro Araki, president of Tokyo Medical Center, rolled up his sleeve and received a blow, one of the first Japanese to do so.
“It didn’t hurt at all and I feel very relieved,” he told reporters as he was monitored for any allergic reactions. “We now have better protection and I hope we feel more at ease while offering medical treatment.”
About 40,000 doctors and nurses considered vulnerable to the virus, as they treat patients with COVID-19, are in the first group to be vaccinated using photos developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech – after the vaccine was approved on Sunday by the Japanese regulatory authority. Two doses are needed, although some protection begins after the first shot.
Japan’s late authorization for the vaccine means it lags behind many other countries. The United Kingdom began vaccinations on December 8 and dealt at least one blow to more than 15 million people, while the United States began its campaign on December 14 and about 40 million people were shot. Vaccines were launched in many EU countries in late December, and campaigns there have been criticized for being slower.
But Japanese vaccine minister Taro Kono has defended the delay as necessary to build confidence in a country where distrust of vaccines is decades old. Many people have a vague concern about vaccines, in part because their side effects have often been reported by the media here.
“I think it’s more important for the Japanese government to show the Japanese people that we’ve done everything we can to prove the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine to encourage the Japanese to get the vaccine,” Kono said. “So at the end of the day we could have started slower, but we think it will be more efficient.
Half of the recipients of the first photos will keep a daily record of their condition for seven weeks; that the data will be used in a health study to inform people about the side effects. Studies of tens of thousands of people with the Pfizer vaccine – and others currently being administered in other countries – have found no serious side effects.
“We would like to make an effort so that people can be vaccinated with peace of mind,” Katsunobu Kato’s chief secretary told reporters.
The development of a Japanese COVID-19 vaccine is still in its infancy, so the country, like many others, has to rely on imported photos – raising concerns about supply problems seen elsewhere as manufacturers struggle to keep up. step with the application. Suga on Wednesday acknowledged the importance of strengthening the development and production capacity of vaccines as “important crisis management” and pledged to provide more support.
The supplies will help determine progress in the vaccination process in Japan, Kono said.
The first batch of Pfizer vaccines to arrive on Friday is enough to cover the first group of medical workers. A second batch is set for next week’s delivery.
To get the most out of each vial, Japanese officials are also struggling to get specialized syringes that can extract six doses per vial instead of five standard syringes made in Japan.
After first-line health workers will come inoculations with another 3.7 million health workers starting in March, followed by about 36 million people aged 65 and over starting in April. The people with the underlying health problems, as well as the caregivers at the nursing homes and other facilities, will be next, before the general population receives its turn.
Some critics have noted that the vaccination effort – which requires medical workers – is adding to their burden, as Japanese hospitals are already strained by the daily treatment of COVID-19 patients. There is an additional concern that hospitals will not have additional capacity to cope with the large number of foreign visitors that the Olympics would involve.