Vaccination centers open in Tokyo, Osaka, Japan

TOKYO: MAY 24 – The Japanese government on Monday opened vaccination centers in Tokyo and Osaka to accommodate large numbers of people. The government has launched a wide-ranging campaign in Japan amid criticism that the vaccination campaign has been slow.

With two months to go before the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese military doctors and nurses have been tasked with operating the vaccination centers for three months.

Army doctors and nurses have recently started vaccinating approved modern companies. The modern vaccine, developed in the United States, was formally approved in Japan only last Friday.

Until now, Japan has only allowed vaccines developed by Pfizer. But on Friday, Japan approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use. However, Japan will not immediately vaccinate AstraZeneca.

The government will provide about 36 million people aged 65 and above by the end of July with the operation of two vaccination centers.

A 66-year-old senior citizen who arrived at the vaccination center informed that 30 or 40 senior citizens had arrived at the vaccination center before 7.30 am.

Speaking to reporters, Katsunobu Kato, Secretary of the Council of Ministers of Japan, said that the government would work to vaccinate as many people as possible as soon as possible.

Japan plans to vaccinate its 36 million senior citizens by mid-April. In February, Japan began vaccinating health workers in the first phase.

Vaccination campaign in Japan, one of the richest countries in the world, is very slow. Japan’s population is about 126 million, but so far only about 4 percent have been vaccinated.

Meanwhile, some municipalities have said it will be difficult to vaccinate all senior citizens by July. He said the vaccination campaign could be affected, especially due to the lack of health workers. -XINHUA