TOKYO (AP) – Months after other major economies, Japan began giving the first coronavirus vaccines to health care professionals on Wednesday. Many people are wondering if the campaign will reach enough people and eventually save an Olympic Summer Games that has been delayed by a year due to the worst pandemic in a century.
Despite recent increasing infections, Japan has largely evaded the kind of disaster that has plagued the economies, social networks, and health care systems of other rich countries. But the fate of the Olympics, and the billions of dollars at stake if the Games fail, make Japan’s vaccination campaign crucial. Japanese officials are also well aware that China, which has been successful in eradicating the virus, will host the Winter Olympics next year, something that increases the desire for the Tokyo Games to take place.
A major problem as the vaccines begin to develop – first to medical workers, then the elderly and then, possibly in late spring or early summer, to the rest of the population – is concern about the shortages of imported vaccines on which Japan relies, and a long-standing reluctance among many Japanese to take vaccines due to the fear of relatively rare side effects played out by the media in the past.
The late implementation will make it impossible to achieve the so-called “herd immunity” against the virus before the Olympic Games start in July, experts say.
The vaccination campaign has the support of the government, but there is widespread caution, even opposition, among the citizens to hold the Games at all. About 80% of respondents in recent media surveys support the cancellation or further postponement of the Olympics due to concerns about the virus.
Attended by a room full of media, dr. Kazuhiro Araki, president of the Tokyo Medical Center, rolled up his sleeves and got a jerk on Wednesday and became one of the first Japanese to be vaccinated.
“It did not hurt at all, and I feel very relieved,” he told reporters while being watched for allergic reactions. “We have better protection now, and I hope we feel more comfortable when we offer medical treatment.”
About 40,000 doctors and nurses are considered vulnerable to the virus because they treat COVID-19 patients, and they received their first dose from Wednesday and the first dose starts on March 10.
Japan stands behind many other countries. The government only approved its first vaccination on Sunday for the shots fired by Pfizer Inc.
Britain began vaccinations on December 8, while the United States began its campaign on December 14, with about 15 million people vaccinated by mid-February. In December, vaccines were rolled out in Germany, France, Italy and many European countries.
Japan fell behind because it asked Pfizer to conduct clinical trials with Japanese, in addition to trials that have been conducted in six other countries. Japanese officials said it was necessary to address problems in a country with low confidence in the vaccine.
“I think it is more important for the Japanese government to show the Japanese people that we have done everything possible to prove the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine to encourage the Japanese to take the vaccine,” the Japanese minister said. of vaccination Taro Kono said. “At the end of the day, we may have started slower, but we think it will be more effective.
Japan’s mistrust of vaccines is decades old. Many people have a vague discomfort about vaccines, in part because the side effects here have often been dished out by the media.
Half of the recipients of the first shots will keep a daily record of their condition for seven weeks; that data will be used in a health study intended to inform people concerned about the side effects.
“We would like to make efforts to vaccinate the people with peace of mind,” Katsunobu Kato, general secretary, told reporters.
Japan, where the development of its own vaccines is still in its early stages, must initially rely on foreign developed vaccines. Suga acknowledged on Wednesday that it was important to strengthen vaccine development and production capacity as ‘important crisis management’ and promised to provide more support.
The supply of imported vaccines is a major concern due to the shortage of supplies and restrictions in Europe, where many are manufactured.
Stocks of imported vaccines will determine the progress of vaccination in Japan, Kono said.
The first group of Pfizer vaccines that arrived on Friday is enough to cover the first group of medical workers. The second group will be delivered next week.
To get the most vaccine out of each vial, Japanese officials try to get specialized syringes that can contain six doses per vial instead of five, by standard Japanese syringes.
After the frontline health workers now receive their vaccinations, vaccination of 3.7 million more health workers will begin in March, followed by about 36 million people aged 65 and older starting in April. People with underlying health problems, as well as caregivers at nursing homes and other facilities, will be next before the general population takes their turn.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said he is determined to achieve a “safe and secure Olympics as proof of human victory against the pandemic”, but the outlook is uncertain given the state of the infections. Japan is currently partly in a state of emergency, partly because Suga’s virus measures were too lax and slow.
Critics say many medical workers are now helping with the vaccination at a time when Japanese hospitals are already hampered by the daily treatment of COVID-19 patients. There are concerns that hospitals have no additional capacity to accommodate the large number of overseas visitors to the Olympics.