The Defense Ministry on Monday began accepting reservations for vaccinations against COVID-19 at large-scale vaccination venues it is preparing for to operate in Tokyo and Osaka from May 24. Although reservations for the Tokyo venue are initially limited to residents of Tokyo's 23 wards, information gathered by The Yomiuri Shimbun shows that the mailing out of vouchers to about 360,000 people aged 65-74 in seven of those wards had been delayed.
The vouchers are required for making reservations, either at the large-scale sites to be run by the Self-Defense Forces or at mass vaccination sites run by individual municipalities.
As of Sunday, the day before reservations for the SDF-run sites began, none of those 360,000 vouchers had been mailed out by the seven wards.
While those who were able to make appointments expressed happiness, those still awaiting their vaccination vouchers were vexed.
"I was wondering when I would be able to get vaccinated, but now I feel relieved," said a smiling 78-year-old company executive from Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, who was able to make a May 24 appointment for a vaccination at the SDF-run site in Tokyo.
Itabashi Ward started accepting reservations on May 10 for about 6,000 people to receive the shots at the ward's own mass vaccination site, but those slots were soon filled. They will resume accepting reservations on May 24. The man had given up getting vaccinated at his family doctor's clinic, because the clinic prioritizes vaccinations for people 80 or older. He said that being able to make a reservation at the SDF-run site "was a big help because I was having trouble getting an appointment in my local municipality."
To make an appointment for vaccination at one of the two SDF-run large-scale venues, it is necessary to have a vaccination voucher sent out by the municipality where one resides. Ota Ward sent out the vouchers to about 165,000 people simultaneously on Monday, which meant the vouchers could not reach people in time for the start of reservations that day. On Thursday and Friday, the ward received a total of about 120 inquiries from people asking for their voucher numbers.
"I feel left out because I couldn't make an appointment," said an 86-year-old woman who lives in the ward. "I have asthma and I'm worried I might become seriously ill if I get infected with the coronavirus. I want to get vaccinated as soon as possible."
Ota is one of the seven wards -- along with Chiyoda, Chuo, Shinjuku, Arakawa, Nerima and Katsushika wards -- that did not make a timely start to sending out vouchers for people aged 65-74. The mailing of vouchers to these people is now expected to have started in all seven wards by May 26.
To avoid confusion, administrative and regulatory reform minister Taro Kono, who is in charge of the vaccination program, has requested that vaccination vouchers be sent out in stages, limiting the number of people eligible to be vaccinated at any given time. Nerima Mayor Akio Maekawa on Friday issued a statement saying: "We have subdivided the target population [for mailing vouchers] based on the government's request. We cannot respond to the sudden change of the government's policy when it set up the large vaccination sites."
-- A rush of applicants
Ahead of the opening of the two large-scale SDF-run vaccination sites, some local governments have accelerated the delivery of vaccination vouchers.
Musashino City, Tokyo, had planned to send out vouchers to about 15,500 people under 75 on June 7. However, the city government decided to hand out vouchers to those who wanted them earlier so that they can make reservations for vaccination at the large-scale site. Musashino is not part of the 23 wards, so its residents will have to wait until May 24 to make reservations for shots at the SDF-run Tokyo site. As of 4 p.m. on Monday, 279 people in the city had applied for the vouchers to be ready to make their reservations.
The city of Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture, whose residents will be able to make reservations from May 31, will also send out vouchers to those who wish to have them earlier. The city started sending vouchers in order of age. It has already sent out vouchers to about 7,600 people 80 or older and has received about 10 inquiries about vouchers mainly from people in their 70s. Seven people had requested them by 5 p.m. on Monday.
In Tokyo's Arakawa Ward, Osaka City and other municipalities, reservations for vaccinations conducted by local governments also began on Monday. There is concern about "double bookings," or people making reservations with both the local government and the large-scale vaccination sites.
A 77-year-old man in Arakawa Ward who wanted to make an appointment at the ward's own mass vaccination venue began calling the ward office before 9 a.m. on Monday. He tried calling repeatedly, finally getting through on his 15th attempt. "I wanted to get the vaccination near my house, rather than going all the way to the large-scale vaccination site on a crowded train," he said.
An official of Taito Ward, Tokyo, spoke highly of the opening of large-scale vaccination sites by the government, saying, "It will provide more opportunities for people who want to be vaccinated as soon as possible." An official of Osaka City said, "The vaccination process will be accelerated, and we will be able to complete vaccinations of elderly people at the end of July, earlier than mid-August as previously scheduled."
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