Japan opened two mass inoculation centres on Monday as the country races to vaccinate most of its elderly population against COVID-19 before the start of the Tokyo Olympics.
(Adds details on emergency declaration extension in 7th para)
TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - Japan opened mass inoculation centres on Monday as it races to vaccinate most of its elderly population before the start of the Tokyo Olympics.
The centres in Tokyo and Osaka will vaccinate thousands of people every day, giving a boost to Japan s sluggish inoculation drive as officials battle a fourth wave of coronavirus infections. It s better to get it early, said Tetsuya Urano, 66, who was among the first to be vaccinated in Tokyo. It went pretty smoothly, all in all.
The Tokyo facility will operate 12 hours a day to dispense shots to 10,000 people daily for the next three months. The site in Osaka, Japan s western metropolis, will build up to about 5,000 shots a day.
Monday, 24 May 2021 11:18 AM MYT
A pensioner receives the Moderna vaccine at the newly-opened mass vaccination centre in Tokyo, Japan May 24, 2021. Carl Court/Pool via Reuters
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TOKYO, May 24 Japan opened two mass inoculation centres on Monday as the country races to vaccinate most of its elderly population against Covid-19 before the start of the Tokyo Olympics.
The centres in Tokyo and Osaka will vaccinate thousands of people every day, giving a boost to Japan’s sluggish inoculation drive as officials battle a fourth wave of infections.
Coronavirus toll at 10:00 (GMT) Monday
Paris – The novel coronavirus has killed at least 3 465 398 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 10:00 (GMT) on Monday.
At least 166 741 960 cases of coronavirus have been registered.
The vast majority have recovered, though some have continued to experience symptoms weeks or even months later.
The figures are based on daily reports provided by health authorities in each country.
They exclude revisions made by other statistical organisations, which show that the number of deaths is much higher.
The World Health Organisation estimates that the pandemic s overall toll could be two to three times higher than official records, due to the excess mortality that is directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19.