TOKYO (AP) – Months after other major economies, Japan began giving the first coronavirus vaccines to primary care health workers on Wednesday. Many wonder if the campaign will reach, and in time, enough people to save a Summer Olympics delayed by the worst pandemic in a century for a year.
Despite recent rising infections, Japan has largely avoided the kind of disaster that has hit the economies, social networks and health care systems of other wealthy countries. But the fate of the Olympics and the billions of dollars at stake if the Games fail make Japan’s vaccination campaign critical. Japanese officials are also well aware that China, which has managed to eradicate the virus, will host the Winter Olympics next year, something that increases the desire to have the Games take place in Tokyo.
A major problem in the rollout of vaccines – first to medical workers, then the elderly and then, possibly in late spring or early summer, to the rest of the population – are concerns about shortages of imported vaccines Japan relies on, and temporary reluctance for many Japanese to take vaccines because of the fear of relatively rare side effects played by the media in the past.
The late rollout will make it impossible to achieve so-called “herd immunity” to the virus before the Olympics begin in July, experts say.
The vaccination campaign has the support of the government, but there is widespread vigilance and even civil opposition to hold the Games at all. About 80% of those polled in recent media surveys are in favor of canceling or further postponing the Olympics because of concerns about the virus.
Dr. Kazuhiro Araki, president of the Tokyo Medical Center, visited by a room full of media, rolled up his shirt sleeves and got a shot on Wednesday. He became one of the first Japanese to be vaccinated.
“It didn’t hurt at all, and I feel very relieved,” he told reporters while being monitored for allergic reactions. “We now have better protection and I hope we feel more comfortable giving medical treatment.”
About 40,000 doctors and nurses who were considered vulnerable to the virus as they treat COVID-19 patients were part of the group that received their first dose from Wednesday and was scheduled to receive their second dose from March 10.
Japan is lagging behind many other countries. The government only gave its first vaccination approval for injections developed and supplied by Pfizer Inc. on Sunday.
Britain began vaccinations on December 8, while the United States started its campaign on December 14, with about 15 million people vaccinated in mid-February. At the end of December, vaccines were rolled out in Germany, France, Italy and many European countries.
Japan lagged their pace because it asked Pfizer to conduct clinical trials on Japanese, in addition to trials already conducted in six other countries. Japanese officials said this was necessary to address concerns in a country with low vaccine confidence.
“I think it is more important for the Japanese government to show the Japanese people that we have done everything we can to prove the efficacy and safety of the vaccine to encourage the Japanese people to take the vaccine,” the said. Japanese vaccination minister Taro Kono. “So at the end of the day we may have started slower, but we think it will be more effective.
Japan’s mistrust of vaccines has been around for decades. Many people have a vague concern about vaccines, partly because their side effects have often been played out by the media here.
Half of the recipients of the first shots keep a daily record of their condition for seven weeks; that data will be used in a health study designed to inform people concerned about the side effects.
“We want to make an effort to get people vaccinated with peace of mind,” Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters.
Japan, where the development of its own vaccines is still in its infancy, must initially rely on vaccines developed abroad. Suga recognized on Wednesday the importance of strengthening vaccine development and manufacturing capacity as “important crisis management” and pledged to provide more support.
The supply of imported vaccines is of great concern due to a shortage of supply and restrictions in Europe, where many are produced.
The supply of imported vaccines will determine the progress of the vaccination drive in Japan, Kono said.
The first batch of the Pfizer vaccine that arrived Friday is enough to cover the first group of medical workers. The second batch will be delivered next week.
To get the most vaccine from each vial, Japanese officials are rushing to get specialized syringes that can hold six doses per vial instead of five syringes made by standard Japan.
After primary health workers now receive their vaccines, vaccinations of 3.7 million additional health workers will begin in March, followed by approximately 36 million people 65 and older from April. People with underlying health problems, as well as caregivers in nursing homes and other facilities, will be next before the general population’s turn.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said he is determined to reach safe Olympics as “evidence of human victory against the pandemic,” but the outlook is uncertain given the state of the infections. Japan is currently in a partial state of emergency because Suga’s virus measures were too lax and slow.
Critics say many medical workers are now helping to vaccinate at a time when Japanese hospitals are already under pressure from the daily treatment of COVID-19 patients. Worryingly, hospitals will not have additional capacity to accommodate the large number of foreign visitors that the Olympics will bring.