TOKYO – Japan plans to start inoculating elderly people only after Covid-19 vaccinations for medical frontliners have been administered, possibly delaying the initially anticipated start date for seniors in April, reported Kyodo news agency, quoting a senior government official yesterday.
The official said the move aims to ensure a stable supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been formally approved by the Health Ministry on Sunday.
Around 3.7 million healthcare workers will receive the vaccine in March, followed by 36 million people aged 65 and above from April 1 at the earliest.
But according to another government official, it is uncertain when Japan can receive subsequent shipments and how much, following the European Union’s tightening of export controls on vaccines. Pfizer is also likely to delay its plan to increase production capacity from March.
But once a sufficient supply of vaccines has been secured, inoculations could still take place simultaneously for frontliners and the elderly.
The Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry yesterday said after three million doses are administered to the general public, Japan will survey the potential side effects caused by various coronavirus vaccines.
The ministry will invite participants to respond to its survey and plans to track common side effects, such as fever and fatigue, among three different vaccines, including Pfizer’s.
Around 10,000 to 20,000 healthcare workers are set to be injected with the Pfizer vaccine on February 17. The government will collect and periodically release details on all side effects experienced, regardless of whether the vaccine is the cause.
It will also provide information on the safety of the vaccines garnered from the survey after inoculations begin for the general public.
The survey is expected to cover around 500,000 people per single dose of each version of the vaccine. A total of three million doses will be necessary if the government includes doses from pharmaceuticals AstraZeneca and Moderna, alongside Pfizer. – Bernama, February 16, 2021
