The government expects to deliver enough COVID-19 vaccines for all senior citizens to municipalities by the end of June, the nation's coronavirus czar, Administrative Reform Minister Taro Kono, said at a press conference on Friday.
About 36 million people aged 65 or older are eligible for the vaccine. Two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine being used in Japan are required per person, meaning 72 million doses are needed to vaccinate all senior citizens.
Kono said, "We have come to a basic agreement with Pfizer on a schedule that will allow us to complete the supply to all municipalities by the end of June," based on the assumption that the European Union will approve the export of the vaccine to Japan.
Vaccinations for senior citizens are scheduled to begin on April 12, with full-scale inoculations starting nationwide from April 26.
Kono said that by the end of April enough vaccine will be supplied to administer the first doses to the 3.7 million medical workers who are in line to receive the vaccination before senior citizens.
The government had initially estimated that vaccinations would be needed for 3.7 million medical workers, but the estimate was 1 million short of the actual amount required.
Kono said that enough vaccines for an additional 1 million medical workers and the second doses for the 3.7 million workers will be secured by the end of June.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
