Residents of Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures aged 65 or over will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines at mass inoculation sites in Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
The sites, scheduled to open on May 24, will be operated by the Self-Defense Forces.
Reservations can be made online from Monday for the vaccinations at the sites. As local governments across the nation are considering setting up such mass vaccination venues, the central government-led initiative could become a model case.
According to the ministry, reservations will be accepted only on the ministry's website and via the free messaging app LINE. People will not be able to make reservations by telephone.
To avoid a flood of online applications, the periods during which applications can be received will be staggered depending on where residents are based.
Mass vaccinations at the sites will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. even on weekends and holidays.
To make a reservation, residents will need a vaccination voucher from their municipality. Residents who have already received their first dose in their local municipality will not be eligible to receive a second dose at a mass vaccination site.
To avoid confusion, the government plans to use only one type of COVID-19 vaccine, which is expected to be the one developed by U.S. biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., according to ministry officials.
About 290 medical personnel, including medical officers and nurses from the SDF and private-sector nurses, will be based at the Tokyo site and about 190 will be based at the Osaka site.
The government aims to inoculate about 10,000 people a day at the Tokyo site and about 5,000 people a day at the Osaka site, according to the officials.
However, only about half of the target figures will be administered at each site during a preliminary phase through the end of May.
The vaccination history of recipients will be managed under the government's Vaccination Record System. The government hopes eligible recipients will receive two doses at the mass inoculation sites, which are scheduled to operate until Aug. 24. Recipients can get a second shot at the same venue they received the first dose.
Private-sector firms will be commissioned to prepare the venues and operate the reservation system, according to the ministry. The total cost, including expenses to dispatch private-sector nurses, is said to be about 3.7 billion yen.
Renovations such as work to make restrooms barrier-free for the elderly are being carried out at the aging building in Tokyo where the vaccinations will be administered, Otemachi Government Building No. 3.
Vaccinations by medical officers and nurses from the SDF will be allowed based on a provision of the Self-Defense Forces Law concerning the opening of a temporary hospital by the SDF.
"We will secure and provide a sufficient amount of vaccines, so it is hoped that those eligible [for vaccinations] will make reservations calmly," Defense State Minister Yasuhide Nakayama told reporters Wednesday.
However, about 9 million eligible residents live in Tokyo and the prefectures of Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa, accounting for a quarter of people aged 65 or over in Japan.
Even if vaccinations are carried out at the Tokyo site over the three-month period, only about 900,000 people would be inoculated, according to estimates, so the government may face calls to take additional measures.
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