Japan will begin vaccinating its health workers on Wednesday with 40,000 doctors and nurses from 100 hospitals across the country receiving Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, according to Japan’s head of vaccine launch Taro Kano.
Of those 40,000, we asked 20,000 doctors and nurses to keep a diary of their health conditions, temperature, headaches and what happens to them, “Kano said.” We will monitor them for 21 days and then they will get a second vaccine from March 10. ”
After the first round of doctors and nurses, the launch of 3.7 million doctors, pharmacists, nurses, ambulance drivers and other front-line workers will continue, Kano added.
Inoculations for the elderly will begin in April and the country aims to complete public vaccination during the year.
Olympic Games in play: The launch comes as Japan is scheduled to host the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in July, despite rising public opposition and rising costs.
A survey conducted last month by the national broadcaster NHK found that 77% of people in Japan think that the Games should be canceled or postponed, largely due to logistical obstacles that prevent the holding of such a massive event in the midst of a public health crisis.
The country’s medical system has been overwhelmed, although it has the number of hospital beds per capita in the developed world. Cases have doubled in the past two months to over 406,000, which has extended the limit of the Japanese medical system.
Japan was one of the last major economies to approve the use of a coronavirus vaccine and begin deployment, raising new questions about the country’s ambitious plan to achieve the necessary levels of immunity in time for competition.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said last month that his government is “determined” to “hold a safe Olympics.”
Kano, the head of vaccination efforts, told Tuesday’s press conference that “the Olympics are not on my schedule … we need to think about the specific supply number and then we will reach a possible goal.” when asked about when Japan is expected to reach the benchmark in immunity.