Shortly before, Japan approved the use of two more vaccines against it coronavirus In its population, the number of unused vaccines against covid-19 in the country is expected to reach tens of millions of doses as the pace of the vaccination campaign remains slow due to lack of manpower and logistical problems.
Japan imported 28 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in late April, but has so far used only 15% of its stock with the remaining 24 million doses remaining in deep-cooled refrigerators, according to AMPE.
Vaccine supplies in Japan are expected to increase rapidly as well regulators are preparing to decide on May 20 whether they will approve the vaccines of Moderna and AstraZeneca, the national network NHK broadcast late last night.
The first batch of Moderna vaccine has already arrived in the country and it is estimated that 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are being prepared by the company’s local partners.
Deliveries of Pfizer vaccines are also set to accelerate to over 35 million doses this month and next.
Japan has secured the largest number of vaccines against it COVID-19 in Asia as it prepares for the Summer Olympics – just over 4 million doses have been given to health workers and the elderly.
But the country has vaccinated just 2.2% of its population so far – the slowest vaccination rate among rich countries – and the government has an ambitious goal of vaccinating its 36 million elderly citizens by July.
To achieve this goal the Japan will need to administer about 800,000 vaccines a day, according to a group of businessmen calling on the government to speed up the vaccination process.
Taro Kono, the minister in charge of vaccines, said there were gaps in the vaccine retention system and that in large cities demand had exceeded supply.
“Local government officials work really hard like call center staff, so I urge citizens to avoid complaining as much as possible,” the minister told reporters today.
Japan launched the vaccination program in February, later than most large economies, and logistics problems, mainly manpower shortages, slowed down the vaccination process.
About two million health workers are still waiting to receive the first dose of the vaccine, and this has caused outrage in the medical community, says Kazuaki Jindai, a doctor and researcher in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.
The government has asked the Ministry of Defense to set up a mass vaccination site in Tokyo and Osaka by May 24, but so far there is no timetable for when the general population will be vaccinated and some health experts estimate that this will be done by winter maybe later.
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