TOKYO (AP) – Japan formally approved its first COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday and said it would begin inoculations across the country in a few days, but months behind the United States and many other countries.
Japan’s Ministry of Health said it approved the vaccine co-developed and provided by Pfizer Inc.
The announcement came after a government panel confirmed on Friday that the final results of clinical trials in Japan showed that the vaccine had an efficacy similar to that of tests abroad.
Many countries started vaccinating their citizens at the end of last year, and the Pfizer vaccine has been used elsewhere since December.
Under the current plan, some 20,000 first-rate medical workers in hospitals in Japan will receive their first vaccines starting on Wednesday. About 3.7 million other medical professionals will be next, followed by the elderly, who are due to have their vaccines in April. In June, everyone else is expected to be eligible.
Health ministry official Yuta Yamashita said vaccinations could start as soon as a ministry panel on vaccination logistics gave the green light.
Approval was granted in a special accelerated process for emergency use. It took two months compared to the normal year in a country known for cautious and slow approval processes.
Still, the launch in Japan is months behind many other countries because the government had ordered clinical trials at home, in addition to the multinational tests that Pfizer conducted on more than 40,000 people from July to November. Many countries accepted Pfizer’s results and moved on.
In a country where many people are skeptical about vaccines, Japan sought additional testing to address safety issues. But the tests were conducted on just 160 people, and some question whether it was worth delaying the launch.
Vaccines are considered essential for hosting the late Tokyo Olympics this summer. Japan is expected to receive 144 million doses from Pfizer, 120 million from AstraZeneca and about 50 million from Moderna by the end of this year, enough to cover its population.
The vaccines that are being developed by Japan are still in the early stages, so the country must rely on imports. AstraZeneca applied for approval in Japan only recently, while Moderna has not yet applied. Japan’s dependence on imports, many of which are subject to EU export controls, is also causing supply concerns.
Shigeru Omi, head of the government’s coronavirus task force, cited earlier this month the lack of global competitiveness of Japanese pharmaceuticals as a reason for the delayed launch.
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