Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Thursday that the metropolitan government is planning to launch its own vaccination site in the capital in order to accelerate the administering of COVID-19 vaccine.
A survey conducted by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry showed that out of the 62 wards and municipalities in the capital, 20 said they would not be able to meet the central government's target of vaccinating all of the elderly aged 65 or older by the end of July.
As of Monday, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey, 12 wards and municipalities mainly in the Tama area of Tokyo did not have prospects of completing such vaccinations by the end of July. The situation has prompted calls requesting for the metropolitan government to set up mass vaccination sites.
"We're studying [the launch of a mass vaccination site] in cooperation with ward and municipal governments," Koike said to reporters on Thursday.
The Defense Ministry plans to open on Monday a mass vaccination site that is slated to be able to accommodate up to 10,000 people a day in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward.
Until her remarks on Thursday, Koike had expressed opposition toward a mass vaccination site being operated by the metropolitan government, saying "[it] would lead to confusion."
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