Local governments in Japan worried as they prepare for vaccinations
Kazuyoshi Nakaya and Shunsuke Matsuda, The Japan News
Jan. 13, 2021
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Preparations for rolling out coronavirus vaccinations nationwide are underway. During a press conference on Jan. 7 when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared another state of emergency for Tokyo and three other prefectures, he said that vaccination is a trump card in the measures against infections. Administering vaccinations is a big project for the country, with 50 million people prioritized to receive inoculation, but local governments - who will play a leading role - are growing concerned.
Speeding up coordination
The Japanese government has reached agreements with three foreign pharmaceutical companies to supply a combined total of 145 million doses of coronavirus vaccines. The vaccine developed by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. could be approved as early as February.
The threat of Japan's hospital system collapsing amid surging coronavirus cases forces Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to expand a state of emergency so it covers about 55 per cent of the country.
Fraught history haunts Japan s COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said he would be among the first to be vaccinated for COVID-19, in an apparent attempt to bolster lukewarm confidence about the jab. AFP January 11, 2021 / 10:47 AM IST
File image: A medical worker receives experimental H1N1 flu shot at a hospital in Tokyo, Japan in October 19, 2009. (Image: Reuters/Yuriko Nakao (Japan Health Society)
A history of vaccine controversies in Japan may cast a long shadow over the coronavirus jab rollout, experts warn, even as the country battles a severe third wave of infections.
While vaccine hesitancy, and outright opposition, has been growing in developed countries in recent years, public suspicion dates back much further in Japan.
Fraught history haunts Japan virus vaccine roll-out yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.