Japan is considering expanding the areas in which skilled foreign workers can receive long-term work visas to 12 from three, possibly including the food service industry, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.
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TOKYO (Reuters) - Pompoms rustle and silver shoes flash as “Japan Pom Pom” practices, moving to a lively cheer dance beat. With members ages 60 to 89, they’re no ordinary squad.
Fumie Takino, 89, founder of a senior cheer squad called Japan Pom Pom, and other members pose for commemorative photos before filming a dance routine for an online performance in Tokyo, Japan, April 12, 2021. It s dancing; moving your body is nice, Takino said. And the costumes are unbelievably showy. Some people join just so they can wear them. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
But don’t you dare call them grannies.
“Right at the start, we weren’t very happy about being called ‘granny cheer dancers,’” says Fumie Takino, the bubbly, energetic 89-year-old who founded Japan Pom Pom - average age, 72 years - more than 25 years ago.
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LONDON (Reuters) - The first study to directly compare immune reactions between Pfizer’s and AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines found strong and broadly similar antibody responses in over-80-year-olds after a first dose of either shot, scientists said on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: A dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is prepared in a vaccination centre at Newmarket Racecourse, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in Newmarket, Britain March 26, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge
The UK study also found that a critical component of the immune system known as T cells showed a more enhanced response in those who got the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine than in those who got the Pfizer/BioNTech one.
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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico on Monday began the task of vaccinating millions of senior citizens against the coronavirus, with dozens of Mexicans over 60 years old waiting in line for hours because of delays in administering shots.
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Mexico began vaccinating healthcare workers in late December, and is starting a second phase for the elderly, even as it waits for more vaccine shipments.
By the end of April, the government aims to have inoculated everyone over 60, or 12% of the population of about 128 million, who are among the most vulnerable to complications from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.