TOKYO (Reuters) – On Friday, the head of Japan’s vaccine program again met the goal of ensuring a sufficient supply of COVID-19 vaccines in June, a month before the scheduled start of the Tokyo Olympics.
Taro Kono, the newly installed head of Japanese inoculation, told reporters that “old information” was behind comments from a spokesman that the government hopes to have enough vaccines for its target population by mid-year.
“At the moment, we are making preparations to start vaccination in late February,” Kono said. “We would like to provide information on what will come after things consolidate.”
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to have enough shots for the Japanese population by mid-2021. But production and distribution problems have hampered the deployment of vaccines around the world, and Japan is already tracking most major economies. at the start of his 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 after the medical workers was to vaccinate the elderly, people with health problems and the workers in the care centers for the elderly.
Japan has made deals to buy 144 million doses, enough to inoculate 72 million people, from Pfizer. It has also reached 50 million doses at Moderna Inc and 120 million at AstraZeneca Plc. In total, that would be more than enough for the Japanese population of 126 million.
Japan requires national vaccine trials before granting regulatory approval. Pfizer is expected to be approved next month, while Moderna began its first national trial on Thursday. AstraZeneca has filed a lawsuit in Japan but has not yet submitted approval.
Reports by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Rocky Swift; Edition by Ana Nicolaci da Costa