Japan launches COVID-19 vaccinations as Olympics approach

TOKYO - Japan began administering COVID-19 vaccinations on Wednesday, starting with health workers in Tokyo before expanding the rollout nationwide as the clock ticks down to the Summer Olympics.

The country has been slow to launch inoculations against the coronavirus, starting its program later than at least 70 other countries as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's public support dwindles amid criticism of a sluggish pandemic response.

Speaking in a parliamentary committee meeting, Suga reiterated that vaccines will be the "decisive factor" in fighting the coronavirus and vowed to move forward with the rollout while keeping the public informed.

Vaccinations are due to take place at 100 medical facilities across the country by next week, with specialized freezers already in place to store the vaccine developed by US drugmaker Pfizer Inc. and Germany's BioNTech SE at subzero temperatures.

Of the initial group of 40,000 health workers, 20,000 will participate in a study to track side effects potentially caused by the vaccine and the frequency with which they occur.

They will be asked to keep daily records for 7 weeks after taking the first of 2 shots. The shots will be administered 3 weeks apart.

Twelve staff, including 3 doctors and 5 nurses at the state-run Tokyo Medical Center, were inoculated on Wednesday with none immediately feeling any side effects.

Hospital head Kazuhiro Araki, who was first in the country to receive the shot, said he hopes participating in the study will "help both staff and patients prevent infections."

A further 3.7 million front-line health workers are to begin being inoculated in March, followed by 36 million people aged 65 or older from April.

People with preexisting conditions such as diabetes or heart disease and those working at elderly care facilities will come next, and then finally the general population.

The minister in charge of vaccination efforts, Taro Kono, said Tuesday that foreign residents will become eligible for the free shots in the same order of priority as Japanese citizens, as long as they are registered with a municipality.

Japan received the first shipment of about 386,000 doses from Pfizer's factory in Belgium last week and granted fast-track approval for domestic use on Sunday.

Kono told a press conference that the second shipment had been cleared by the European Union under its new vaccine export controls and was expected to arrive next week, but declined to say how many doses it would contain.

-Kyodo News-

Tokyo reports 186 new coronavirus cases, infections remain high

TOKYO - Tokyo confirmed Wednesday 186 additional cases of the novel coronavirus, below the average of 256.3 over the most recent 7 days but remaining relatively high.

The single-day increase in the Japanese capital compares with 207 reported Tuesday, 161 on Monday, and 260 on Sunday.

The figures reflect the most recent totals reported by health authorities and medical institutions.

The number of patients with severe symptoms and who are hospitalized increased to 32 from Tuesday's 31, the metropolitan government said.

Tokyo is maintaining its alert at the highest of 4 levels, meaning "infections are spreading." 

It has requested establishments serving alcohol and karaoke venues to close by 10 p.m. until the end of August to reduce the risk of infections.

It had also asked residents to refrain from traveling, including to hometowns during the Bon holiday season.

-Kyodo News

Tokyo reports record 224 daily coronavirus infections

TOKYO - The number of new coronavirus infections reported in Tokyo hit a single-day record of 224 on Thursday, the metropolitan government said.

The record follows the confirmation of 75 new coronavirus infections the previous day in the capital, dropping to double digits for the first time in 7 days.


"The medical system is presently not under strain," health minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters in response to the latest figure.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga echoed the view and said the central government is not considering declaring another state of emergency at the moment.

The top government spokesman also said it would relax the rule for audience sizes at events starting Friday as planned, with the maximum allowable raised to 5,000.

Tokyo has been striving to stem a rebound in infections since a nationwide state of emergency was lifted in late May. The pace of increase in virus infections in Japan had slowed after new cases in the capital peaked at the previous high of 206 on April 17.

The number of confirmed cases related to nightlife establishments has risen recently, particularly in Ikebukuro, a major commercial and entertainment district in Tokyo, and the Kabukicho area in the Shinjuku district, according to officials.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said at a task force meeting that the rising number of reported infections was a result of increased testing, but added, "We need to be vigilant about trends in the number of infections."

As for transmission routes, Koike said infections were reported among young people attending parties or having dinners with friends, in addition to those infected at nightlife establishments.

The metropolitan government has 4 alert levels for infection conditions as well as health delivery in the capital of about 14 million people.

The former was maintained from last week at the second-highest level, meaning infections are beginning to increase, while the latter was lifted by one notch to the second-highest level meaning health delivery needs to be strengthened.

On Tuesday, Koike said the metropolitan government plans to extend financial assistance to nightclubs and other facilities in Ikebukuro if they suspend operations at the request of authorities due to group infections.

Koike has also requested residents to refrain from non-essential travel to other prefectures amid growing concern over a second wave of infections.

At over 7,000 cases, Tokyo makes up around a third of the total number of confirmed cases in the country.

Kyodo News