The American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. requested formal approval by Japan of its COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, making it the first supplier in the country to do so.
The Japanese government has already agreed with Pfizer to get a supply of 120 million doses of vaccine, enough for 60 million people, or about half the population.
The United States and Great Britain have already begun to administer the coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech SE, with Singapore and some other countries expected to follow suit.
But safety concerns remain after local US authorities said on Wednesday that a health worker in Alaska had shown a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine. Similar allergic reactions in two health professionals have also been reported in Great Britain.
Earlier this month, the Reichstag passed a law to cover costs for residents to be vaccinated amid a resurgence of infections showing no signs of receding.
As vaccinations could begin as early as March, the government plans to ask municipalities to prepare sites in addition to medical facilities prior to rollout, and set up systems to accept reservations.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is expected to be delivered in batches of 1,000 doses, but they should be stored at minus 75 degrees Celsius or below and administered within approximately 10 days.
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