Japan to Secure Vaccines for All Seniors by June, Vaccinations Chief Says

Japan is expected to obtain COVID-19 vaccines for all of its senior citizens by the end of June, according to the minister overseeing the vaccination rollout, Taro Kono. The Japan Times reports him as saying that there should be enough doses to vaccinate about 36 million people 65 or older twice by then. "We will deliver the vaccines in accordance with the inoculation programs of municipalities across the country," Kono said. The health ministry claims that the vaccines are less likely to cause side effects for people 65 or older, while the country is scheduled to start administering vaccines to seniors from Monday. The ministry polled some 20,000 medical workers for whom vaccinations began in February, of whom 38 percent developed fevers of over 37.5 degrees Celsius after their second shot of the Pfizer vaccine. Just 9 percent of people 65 and older had fevers, and were also less likely to experience headaches and sluggishness after shots. The health ministry estimated that 1.1 million coronavirus vaccine shots were administered in Japan between Feb. 17 and April 11.