Mass vaccinations primarily of people aged 18 to 39 have begun at an inoculation center, which is run by the Self-Defense Forces, in Tokyo's Otemachi area.
According to the Defense Ministry, about 22,000 shots are available at the Tokyo site from Sept. 4 to 25. The ministry decided to allocate these doses to young people on a priority basis, to help boost vaccinations among this group.
The ministry began to take reservations for the shots at the Otemachi inoculation center at 6 p.m. Friday on the ministry's dedicated website. They were fully booked in about two hours.
"I'm relieved to finally be able to get vaccinated, as local municipalities have limited shots to people aged 50 or over, and workplace vaccination programs have been canceled due to the contamination of [some vials of] vaccine," said a 34-year-old company employee who came to the site from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, on Saturday afternoon.
About 6,500 shots are also available at a SDF-run vaccination site in Osaka from Sept. 4 to 25. Young people will be given priority for these shots as well, with reservations to be taken from around Thursday.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
