TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese chief of the vaccine program on Friday fell back on a goal of securing sufficiently targeted supplies of COVID-19 vaccines by June, one month before the scheduled start of the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Taro Kono, the newly installed head of the Japanese inoculation attempt, told reporters that “old information” was behind a spokesman’s comments on Thursday that the government expects to have enough vaccines for its targeted population by mid-year.
“We are currently preparing to start vaccination at the end of February,” Kono said. “We would like to provide information on what comes next if things are going well.”
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has promised to have enough photos for the Japanese population by mid-2021. But manufacturing and distribution issues have hindered the introduction of vaccines around the world, and Japan is already lagging behind most major economies in launching its vaccination campaign.
Kono said Pfizer’s vaccine will be used for the first injections, starting with 10,000 medical personnel in 100 hospitals. The next priority after medical workers was vaccinating the elderly, people with health problems and caregivers.
Japan has entered into agreements to purchase 144 million doses from Pfizer, enough to vaccinate 72 million people. It has also received 50 million doses from Moderna Inc and 120 million from AstraZeneca Plc. In total, that would be more than enough for Japan’s population of 126 million people.
Japan requires domestic trials for vaccines before regulatory approval is granted. Pfizer’s is expected to be approved next month, while Moderna began its first domestic trial on Thursday. AstraZeneca has conducted a trial in Japan, but has not yet applied for approval.
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Rocky Swift; Adaptation by Ana Nicolaci da Costa