The government hopes to complete COVID-19 vaccinations for the elderly by the end of July, by opening new channels to access the vaccine made by U.S. drugmaker Moderna Inc. and stepping up distribution of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
"We'd like to deliver [vaccines] to the people as soon as possible," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters at the prime minister's office on Thursday night.
According to the government, about 400,000 shots were administered to medical workers and the elderly on Wednesday, less than half of its target of 1 million doses per day.
By Wednesday, about 2.21 million medical workers -- 47.1% of a total 4.7 million -- had received two doses of vaccine, while about 130,000 elderly people -- 0.3% of a total 36 million -- had finished the two-shot regimen.
The government hopes that daily vaccination figures will be boosted by the further allocation of Pfizer's vaccine to municipalities expected to begin on Monday.
The deployment of Moderna's vaccine at the mass vaccination sites due to open on Monday in Tokyo and Osaka, as well as at regional vaccination sites set up by prefectures and government ordinance-designated cities, is another move aimed at pushing up the number of daily shots.
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