The government's new tracking system for COVID-19 vaccinations is expected to allow local governments to track people's vaccination status even if they move and change their place of residence between receiving the first and second shots of vaccines that require two doses, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Furthermore, the government will conduct research on supporting mass vaccinations in workplaces.
The system is expected to be in operation from April 12, when vaccinations for the elderly are slated to begin. The government will ask municipalities to pre-register by April 5 the personal information of people who are expected to be vaccinated.
At vaccination sites, customized tablets will register these people by scanning bar codes that link to personal information on vaccination vouchers. Combined with the pre-registered information, the system is expected to be able to track inoculation progress down to the individual level.
For the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine currently used in Japan, people need to have two doses injected a few weeks apart.
As vaccination records will be able to be reviewed across multiple municipalities, it will be easier for a municipality to send out vouchers for a second shot to people who have moved to their jurisdiction after the first injection. Even if someone loses their voucher, municipalities should be able to respond smoothly.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is also examining the possibility of conducting mass vaccinations at workplaces. Currently, inoculations are performed at sites close to a person's residence in principle, but the government believes that if workplaces are utilized, vaccinations could be achieved more quickly.
In the future, it is expected that some countries will require Japanese visitors to have proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Since it takes two to three months to update the records in a conventional vaccination ledger, the government will also look at practical measures available within the digital system.
The government has subcontracted the development of the system to Milabo, an emerging tech company based in Tokyo, at a cost of about 385 million yen. The government has secured 41,000 tablets to be used at vaccination sites and plans to distribute them nationwide in late March.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
