Japan will start vaccinating its healthcare professionals on Wednesday, with 40,000 doctors and nurses from 100 hospitals across the country receiving Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, according to Japan’s chief vaccine launcher, Taro Kano.
Of those 40,000, we asked 20,000 doctors and nurses to keep a diary of their health, temperature, headaches and whatever happens to them, “said Kano.” We will monitor them for 21 days, so they will receive a second injection from March 10th. “
After the first round of doctors and nurses, deployment will continue for 3.7 million doctors, pharmacists, nurses, ambulance drivers and other frontline workers, added Kano.
Vaccines for the elderly will start in April and the country intends to complete vaccination of the population later this year.
Olympics at stake: The launch takes place at a time when Japan is scheduled to host the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in July, despite increased public opposition and rising costs.
A survey conducted last month by the national broadcaster NHK found that 77% of people in Japan think the Games should be canceled or postponed, largely due to logistical obstacles that prevent such a massive event from taking place in the midst of public health crisis.
The country’s medical system is overburdened, although it has the highest number of hospital beds per capita in the developed world. Cases have more than doubled in the past two months to more than 406,000, pushing Japan’s medical system to the limit.
Japan was one of the last major economies to approve the use of a coronavirus vaccine and start the launch, raising more questions about the country’s ambitious plan to achieve the levels of immunity needed in time for competition.
Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said last month that his government is “determined” to “hold a safe Olympics”.
Kano, the head of vaccination efforts, said at a news conference on Tuesday that “the Olympic Games are not on my schedule … we need to think about the concrete number of offers and then we will reach a possible target” when asked about when Japan is expected to reach the herd immunity benchmark.