The first doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. will begin to be administered on Wednesday to 40,000 essential workers in 100 medical units, said on Tuesday Taro Kono, the cabinet minister responsible for vaccines.
The same workers will receive the second dose starting March 10.
Kono said other health workers – those who do not fall into the initial category – may receive their first dose before March 10, once the second dose for essential workers is provided.
Vaccination of the elderly will begin as early as April 1, starting after the medical workers received the gunfire, Kono said, adding that municipal governments have been encouraged to spend no more than two months and three weeks to complete the next. phase of the process.
Vaccination of the rest of the population will officially start after that, although it is possible that the ongoing vaccinations of one priority group will overlap with the next.
Vaccines separated by Moderna Inc. and AstraZeneca PLC are awaiting approval, Kono said, although their introduction could speed up the process.
About 64,350 ampoules of Pfizer vaccine arrived last week on a charter flight from the European Union. Kono declined to say when the second flight with additional vials will arrive, but said the central government will make sure enough vaccines are provided to move the process forward smoothly.
The vaccination process in the United States has been hampered from the outset by significant delays and distrust of public officials. Kono said Japan will certainly face its own problems as it looks to eliminate the virus, but the government is preparing to respond flexibly and quickly to such problems.
As for young people, who are more likely to be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, Kono said it is crucial to get the shot.
“It is very important that young people receive the vaccine to stop the spread of the virus,” he said.
With the opening ceremony of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo scheduled for the end of July, a major concern remains whether the spread of the virus will be sufficiently reduced by then.
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