SAITAMA -- The Saitama prefectural government announced Monday that it would open a large-scale COVID-19 vaccination site in Saitama City, targeting people aged 65 and over who have not yet registered for their first shot.
The prefecture expects to vaccinate about 21,000 people between June 1 and the end of July at the site, which will be set up in the Urawa Godo Chosha government building in Urawa Ward. It will begin accepting advance registrations for the large-scale site in late May.
The central government earlier announced plans to deploy a mass vaccination center in Tokyo's Otemachi business district on May 24 that will be open to residents of Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures.
However, Saitama decided to set up its own site because it was "not realistic to ask the elderly to travel, as they are at a higher risk of being infected," Saitama Gov. Motohiro Ono said.
The prefecture plans to use the vaccine made by U.S. drugmaker Moderna Inc. Doctors will be dispatched from prefectural hospitals to administer the vaccines, so as not to divert personnel from the inoculation drives of local municipalities on the city, town, and village level.
Other prefectural governments, including Gunma and Aichi, have signaled that they may rollout their own large-scale vaccination sites.
In addition to the Tokyo site, the central government has said it also plans to set up a mass vaccination center in Osaka.
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