Wednesday marked one month since Japan launched its first vaccinations against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, with about 350,000 medical workers vaccinated so far.
About 36 million elderly people are scheduled to be vaccinated from April, but the vaccination program must be accelerated if it is to be completed within the timeline of about three months that has been set by the health ministry.
About 250,000 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 over the last week, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
Meanwhile, regarding the vaccination of the elderly, Mizuho Research Institute estimated that about 7.85 million people would need to be vaccinated per week in order for everyone to complete two doses in three months. However, the actual vaccination program is estimated to proceed at a pace of 3 million to 4 million people per week at its peak due to a shortage of nurses for administering the vaccinations, meaning that the vaccination of all elderly people will not be completed until September or October.
"[The government] needs to hasten efforts to secure human resources by such means as encouraging medical workers who have left their professions to return," Naoki Hattori, a senior researcher at the institute, said.
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