TOKYO (Reuters) – The head of Japan’s vaccine program on Friday turned back to the goal of securing sufficient targeted supplies of COVID-19 vaccines by June, a month before the planned start of the Tokyo Olympics.
Taro Kono, the newly installed head of Japan’s inoculation, told reporters that “old information” is behind a spokesman’s comments on Thursday that the government expects to have enough vaccines for the target population by mid-year.
“Right now, we are preparing to start vaccination at the end of February,” Kono said. “We would like to provide information on what will come next, as things consolidate.”
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to have enough fire for the Japanese population by mid-2021. But production and distribution problems have hampered vaccines around the globe, and Japan is already targeting most major economies at the start of its inoculation campaign.
Kono said the Pfizer vaccine will be used for the first shots, starting with 10,000 medical workers in 100 hospitals. The next priority for health workers was the vaccination of the elderly, those with health conditions and workers in care institutions for the elderly.
Japan has made transactions to purchase 144 million doses, enough to inoculate 72 million people, from Pfizer. It also provided 50 million doses from Moderna Inc. and 120 million from AstraZeneca Plc. In total, this would be more than enough for the Japanese population of 126 million.
Japan needs internal studies for vaccines before it can grant regulatory approval. Pfizer is expected to be approved next month, while Moderna began its first internal trial on Thursday. AstraZeneca has filed a lawsuit in Japan, but has not yet applied for approval.
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Rocky Swift; Edited by Ana Nicolaci da Costa