TOKYO (AP) – Months after other major economies, Japan on Wednesday began giving the first coronavirus vaccines to top health workers. Many wonder if the campaign will reach enough people and, over time, to save a summer Olympics already delayed a year by the worst pandemic of a century.
Despite the recent growing infection, Japan has largely dodged the kind of cataclysm that has attacked the economies, social networks, and health systems of other rich countries. But the fate of the Olympics and the billions of dollars at stake if the Games fail make Japan’s vaccination campaign crucial. Japanese officials are also well aware that China, which has managed to eradicate the virus, will host next year’s Winter Olympics, which increases the desire to make the Tokyo Games happen.
A major problem as vaccines are explained (first for medical workers, then for the elderly, and then, possibly in late spring or early summer, for the rest of the population) are concerns about the scarcity of imported vaccines that depends on Japan, and Many reluctances to take vaccines among many Japanese because of fears of relatively rare side effects that the media has reproduced in the past.
The late release will make it impossible to reach the so-called “herd immunity” against the virus before the Olympics begin in July, experts say.
The impetus for vaccination has the support of the government, but there is great caution, even opposition, among citizens to have the Games. Approximately 80% of respondents in recent media polls support the cancellation or subsequent postponement of the Olympics due to the virus’s concerns.
With the presence of a room full of media, Dr. Kazuhiro Araki, president of Tokyo Medical Center, rolled up his sleeves and got a jab on Wednesday, becoming one of the first Japanese to be vaccinated.
“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 comfortable while we offer medical treatment.”
About 40,000 doctors and nurses considered vulnerable to the virus because they treat patients with COVID-19, were part of the group the first dose from Wednesday and planned their second dose from March 10.
Japan lags behind many other countries. The government only gave its first vaccine approval on Sunday for the features developed and supplied by Pfizer Inc.
Britain began inoculations on December 8, while the United States began its campaign on December 14, with about 15 million people vaccinated in mid-February. Vaccines were deployed in Germany, France, Italy and many European countries in late December.
Japan lagged behind because it asked Pfizer to conduct clinical trials with Japanese, in addition to trials already conducted in six other countries. Japanese officials said it was necessary to address the concerns of a country with little confidence in the vaccine.
“I think it’s more important for the Japanese government to show the Japanese people that we’ve done everything we can to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine to encourage the Japanese to get the vaccine,” Japanese vaccine minister Taro said. Knowledge. “At the end of the day, we might have started more slowly, but we think it will be more effective.
Japan’s distrust of vaccines for decades. Many people have a vague unease about vaccines, in part because their side effects have often been reproduced by the media here.
Half of the recipients of the first shots will keep daily records of their condition for seven weeks; this data will be used in a health study to inform people concerned about side effects.
“We would like to make efforts so that people can be vaccinated safely,” Cabinet Secretary-General Katsunobu Kato told reporters.
Japan, where the development of its own vaccines is still in its early stages, must initially rely on vaccines developed abroad. Suga on Wednesday acknowledged the importance of strengthening vaccine development and production capacity as a “major crisis management” and pledged to provide more support.
The supply of imported vaccines is a major concern due to the shortage and supply restrictions in Europe, where many are manufactured.
The supply of imported vaccines will determine the progress of the vaccination campaign in Japan, Kono said.
The first batch of the Pfizer vaccine that arrived on Friday is enough to cover the first group of medical workers. The second batch is scheduled for delivery next week.
To get the maximum vaccine from each vial, Japanese officials are scrambling to get specialized syringes that can hold six doses per vial instead of five for standard Japanese-made syringes.
After frontline health workers receive their vaccines now, inoculations of 3.7 million health professionals will begin in March, followed by some 36 million people aged 65 and over as of April. People with underlying health problems, as well as caregivers of nursing homes and other facilities, will be next, before the general population receives their turn.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said he is determined to get a safe Olympics as “proof of human victory against the pandemic,” but the outlook is uncertain given the state of the infections. Currently, Japan is partially in a state of partial emergency because measurements of the Suga virus were too lax and slow.
Critics say many medical workers are now helping with vaccination at a time when Japanese hospitals are already tense over the daily treatment of patients with COVID-19. He worries that hospitals will have no additional capacity to deal with the large number of foreign visitors that the Olympics would involve.