Japan to have enough vaccines to inoculate all people over 16 by late September: Minister
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(REUTERS)
. Updated: 18 Apr 2021, 01:03 PM IST ANI
Tokyo has vaccine supply deals with Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer. However, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for use in the country so far and has been used to vaccinate the population since February
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Japan will have enough coronavirus vaccines to provide them to everyone older than 16 by the end of September, Administrative Affairs Minister Taro Kono said on Sunday, in the wake of successful talks between Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Pfizer CEO.
Japan mulls creating waiting lists for COVID-19 vaccine: minister
Japan is considering introducing waiting lists for COVID-19 vaccinations to avoid waste, the minister in charge of inoculation effort said Sunday as the country prepares to expand the program s scope. We should prioritize not wasting vaccines, rather than sticking to the priority order of inoculation, when scheduled vaccinations are canceled at the last minute, administrative and regulatory reform minister Taro Kono said on an evening TV program.
Kono indicated the central government will call on municipalities tasked with administering shots to come up with waiting list systems.
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Last week, Japan launched its initial phase of inoculation for 40,000 health care workers with a vaccine developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc. and its German partner BioNTech SE.
Scientists developing universal coronavirus vaccine to prevent future pandemics
and last updated 2021-02-18 16:30:25-05
IRVINE, Calif. â A team of scientists is developing a COVID-19 vaccine that could attack different strains of the virus and fend off future coronavirus outbreaks.
âThe reason why we donât have a preemptive vaccine is because pharmaceutical companies donât make a vaccine for a disease that does not exist, because pharmaceutical companies are here to make a profit, said Dr. Lbachir BenMohamed, a professor of immunology and the director of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology at the University of California, Irvine.
Q&A: COVID-19 vaccines and getting vaccinated in Japan
The following are questions and answers regarding COVID-19 vaccines and how to get vaccinated in Japan.
Q: What are vaccines?
A: Vaccines protect a person from infectious diseases, usually by introducing a weakened or harmless part of a pathogen into the body and triggering the immune system to create antibodies. When the person is exposed to the pathogen in the future, the immune system knows to create the antibodies that can defend against it. A health worker inoculates a colleague with COVID-19 vaccine at the Tokyo Medical Center in Tokyo s Meguro Ward on Feb. 17, 2021. Japan began COVID-19 vaccinations the same day, with the first shots given at the state-run hospital. (Pool photo) (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Clinical study begins in Japan for Moderna s COVID-19 vaccine
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday it has begun clinical trials in Japan of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate by U.S. biotech firm Moderna Inc. with an eye to distributing it in the first half of this year.
Takeda, which is undertaking clinical trials and distribution in Japan of the U.S. company s vaccine known as mRNA-1273, will target 200 adults in the study. The drugmaker is planning to provide 50 million doses, or enough for 25 million people after obtaining regulatory approval. Each person would need two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Japan is struggling to cope with a resurgence in coronavirus cases, with the first vaccine rollout yet to begin. U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. has applied for Japanese government approval for its coronavirus vaccine and Britain s AstraZeneca Plc has begun a clinical study of its vaccine in Japan.