Municipalities will likely face shortages of vaccines in August and beyond, as they are expected to be supplied with almost the same number of doses they are receiving this month, Taro Kono, the minister in charge of the vaccination rollout, has indicated.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Kono said the government will deliver to municipalities about 11.7 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine per two-week period in August and September. This supply is almost the same as the amount they are receiving this month, or just one-third of the number that they have requested.
Kono said the government would reduce supplies to municipalities if they have a certain number of vials in stock, while at the same time allocating more doses to others if they are administering shots at a faster pace.
"Municipalities are urged to figure out their vaccination plans based on their stock and forecasts for vaccine supply," the minister said.
When it comes to the vaccine developed by U.S. biotech firm Moderna, Inc., which is being used for workplace vaccinations and at mass inoculation venues run by local governments, Japan had been supplied with 13.7 million doses by the end of June, far below the 40 million initially planned, according to Kono.
This limited supply was triggered by a surge in global demand for the vaccine, the minister said. "The remainder will be provided in the third quarter [the July-September period]," he added.
Some local government heads have expressed disappointment over the expectation that they will likely face vaccine shortage for the time being.
"The capacity for administering shots has now exceeded [the vaccine supply]," Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said on Tuesday. "The central government is urged to ensure a stable supply of vaccines."
-- Cities 'likely have 40 million. doses'
Municipalities and other entities could currently have a stockpile of 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, considering the fact that the government had supplied 90 million doses by the end of last month, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Norihisa Tamura has said.
During a separate press conference on Tuesday following a Cabinet meeting, Tamura referred to an impasse in the supply system for the vaccine, saying, "It's sure that there have been gaps among municipalities [in terms of vaccination pace]."
Of the about 90 million does that have been delivered, "About 50 million have been administered," the minister said. "This means that about 40 million doses should remain [in stock among municipalities and other entities]."
Tamura also said that the government aims to figure out how to close the gaps between municipalities that have been administering a large number of shots and those that have not.
"As one possible approach, we could deliver more vials to municipalities if they are vaccinating many residents, or adjust the supply to others if they are not making progress."
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