TOKYO (AP) – Japan launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign on Wednesday, months after other major economies began firing and amid questions about whether the unit would reach enough people fast enough to save an Olympics. summer already delayed by the pandemic.
Despite a recent rise in infections, Japan has largely dodged the kind of cataclysm that has hit the economies, social networks and health systems of other rich countries. But the fate of the Olympics and the billions of dollars at stake make Japan’s vaccine campaign crucial. Japanese officials are also well aware that China’s rival, which has been successful in defeating the virus, will host the Winter Olympics next year, boosting the desire to make the Tokyo Games a reality.
The launch of Japan lagged behind other places because it asked vaccine maker Pfizer to conduct clinical trials with Japanese, in addition to tests already conducted in six other countries, as part of an effort to address the concerns of a country with little confidence in the vaccine.
This long reluctance to take vaccines, usually due to fears of infrequent side effects, as well as concerns about the shortage of imported vaccines, now arise during the launch, which will first shoot medical workers, then elderly and vulnerable people, and then, possibly in late spring or early summer, the rest of the population.
Medical workers say vaccinations will help protect them and their families, and business leaders hope the boost will allow economic activity to return to normal. But the late launch will make it impossible to reach the so-called immunity of the herd in the country of 127 million people before the start of the Olympic Games in July, according to experts.
This will leave officials struggling to stifle widespread prudence, and even direct opposition, among citizens to organize the Games. Approximately 80% of respondents in recent media polls support the cancellation or subsequent postponement of the Olympic Games.
Despite this, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and others in his government continue to advance in the Olympic plans, considering the Games “proof of human victory against the pandemic.”
Japan has not seen the massive outbreaks that have affected the United States and many European countries, but the rise in cases in December and January raised concerns and sparked a state of partial emergency that includes requests for early restaurant closures. and bars. Suga has seen his support plummet below 40% from about 70% when he took office in September, and many people said he was too slow to impose restrictions and too lax.
The country now sees an average of about 1 infection per 100,000 people, compared to 24.5 in the United States or 18 in the United Kingdom. Overall, Japan has recorded about 420,000 cases and 7,000 deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
On Wednesday, in a room full of journalists, Dr. Kazuhiro Araki, president of Tokyo Medical Center, rolled up his sleeve and was shot, one of the first Japanese to do so.
“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 are part of the first group to be vaccinated by shots developed by Pfizer and its German-based partner BioNTech, after the vaccine was authorized on Sunday. by the Japanese regulator. It requires two doses, although some protection begins after the first shot.
Japan’s late authorization for the vaccine means it lags behind many other countries. Britain began inoculations on December 8 and has shot at least more than 15 million people, while the United States began its campaign on December 14 and about 40 million people have been shot. Vaccines were launched in many European Union countries at the end of December and the campaigns they have undergone have been criticized for being slower.
But Japanese vaccine minister Taro Kono defended the delay as necessary to build confidence in a country where distrust of vaccines is decades old. Many people have a vague unease about vaccines, in part because their side effects have often been reproduced by the media here.
“I think it’s more important for the Japanese government to show the Japanese that we’ve done everything we can to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine to encourage the Japanese to get the vaccine,” Kono said. “At the end of the day, we might have started more slowly, but we think it will be more effective.
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. Studies of tens of thousands of people on the Pfizer vaccine – and others currently being administered in other countries – have found no serious side effects.
“We would like to make efforts so that people can be vaccinated safely,” Cabinet Secretary-General Katsunobu Kato told reporters.
The development of a Japanese COVID-19 vaccine is still in its early stages, so the country, like many others, has to rely on imported traits, which raises concerns about supply problems being observed. elsewhere while producers struggle to keep up with demand. Suga on Wednesday acknowledged the importance of strengthening vaccine development and production capacity as a “major crisis management” and pledged to provide more support.
Supplies will help determine the progress of the vaccination campaign in Japan, Kono said.
The first batch of Pfizer vaccines that arrived on Friday is enough to cover the first group of medical workers. A second batch is delivered in the second week.
To get the most out of each vial, Japanese officials are also looking to obtain specialized syringes that can extract six doses per vial instead of five using standard Japanese-made syringes.
After the first line of medical workers will come inoculations of 3.7 million more health workers from March, followed by about 36 million people aged 65 and over from 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.
Some critics have pointed out that the impetus for vaccination (which requires the performance of medical workers) is added to their burden, as Japanese hospitals are already undergoing daily treatment of patients with COVID-19. There is an additional concern that hospitals will have no additional capacity to deal with the large number of foreign visitors that the Olympics would involve.