Japan on Wednesday reported 149,383 new coronavirus cases, up 12,190 from Tuesday. Tokyo reported 14,496 new cases, down 1,005 from Tuesday.
The number of infected people hospitalized with severe symptoms in Tokyo was 19, down two from Tuesday. The nationwide figure was 346, down 15 from Tuesday.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths reported nationwide was 211.
© Japan Today
20 Comments
Newgirlintown
The vaccines work, they just don’t stop you catching the virus. Enough of the tinfoil hattery.
Hermitage Nads
I haven't worn a mask for around 18 months. For the first half of this year, I would still occasionally be asked to put one on at the gym or in a few other places, but I haven't been asked at all in the last 6 months or so.
iraira
Eastman is still asking the same question(s) that have been answered here and elsewhere again and again. Willful ignorance? Boredom? Befehl?
Algernon LaCroix
They were foisted on the public - in many countries under threat of exclusion from society - with the promise that they stopped people from getting it. This was clearly a false premise, and a few weeks ago a Pfizer exec admitted they didn't know if the jab stopped the virus but made no effort to correct this error.
So defend the narrative if you want, but it doesn't reflect well on you.
In any case, I, a completely unvaxxed 40-something, got a mild case a few weeks back. My mother, in her late 70s, is triple-boosted and got it much worse, and she's very healthy for her age. Go figure...
Elvis is here
Because vaccines prevent serious illness and death. In short; they work. OMG!!!!
Elvis is here
And if vaccines don't work, why is a "flip-flop China" scrambling to vaccinate the elder population?
Raw Beer
For a couple of months, they reduce the chance of serious illness and death from Covid, but for younger people this benefit is surpassed by the increase of serious vaccine adverse effects, which you risk getting each time you get the injection.
And since most people have already been infected and are therefore immune, the benefit of getting the injection is pretty minor, but the risks remain...
No wonder a number of health agencies have stopped recommending it, except for the vulnerable...
Elvis is here
Case closed. Dr Raw has spoken. I thank you all for your attention.
Thunderbird2
Some people just don't want to accept that the boffins told us that the vaccines were NOT a cure. They have NEVER said the vaccines are a cure. They reduce the chance of getting seriously ill with Covid, and so reduce the numbers of people dying. Yes 211 is a lot, but remember there were thousands dying every day at the worst period of the pandemic.
Vaccines do what they were designed to do - they are not and never were a cure.
Elvis is here
Well, China forced a zero covid policy for three years. To protect the vulnerable. (Apparently).
But they have dropped some and are stopping more restrictions. Quite suddenly with no advanced long term preparation. And are now starting to vax the vulnerable.
If vax don't work, why not keep the zero policy? That goes for all countries.
Raw Beer
Yeah, I wanted to write what I usually write, that those who have already been infected have acquired robust, broad, long-lasting immunity, but I ended up taking a shortcut to be brief.
It's not complete immunity, but it's pretty good, better than what we get from the injections...
ian
What happened to your data ? You're supposed to post here the number of vaccinated among the dearhs
ian
So there should be more people who died and seriously injured because of the vaccine than due to covid in the age group you're pertaining to. Where are they?
ian
If the vaccine is more harmful than the virus, millions more should have died because of the vaccine than the millions who died because of covid.
Is that simple enough for you Raw Beer?
Pickle
Not bad at all considering that Japans numbers are partly being late to the party as well as it being a country where the vast majority live/work in dense urban areas using public transportation.
I do think Japan should uphold its vaccination requirement for foreigners well into 2023 or 2024, but there’s no need to introduce any new or old measures as it currently stands… the health system proved its robustness and survived the worst of it already.
China on the other hand is about to get raw-dogged by Covid. They quite predictably have finally seen the light and are moving away from the unsustainable and impossible zero covid approach so soon comes their long overdue explosion of cases.
jeffb
Pickle,
Why would a vaccine requirement be needed if the vaccine didn't reduce transmission? Is it just about compliance? There are arguments that there have always been vaccine travel requirements so why is this any different? The difference is that those were always for diseases endemic to a region. SARS-CoV-2 is definitely not. It's everywhere already. It's everywhere even despite crippling the travel industry for over a year. I'd say the evidence does not support the mandate.
Pickle
@jeff
it statistically helps to prevent severe symptoms so it would reduce the likelihood of an older/at-risk visitor (of which there are many) being a massive liability by getting seriously sick in Japan. They could alternatively require vaccination status only for people of a certain age or at-risk status (they’d have to come up with their own classification system for what combinations of health factors constitutes a vulnerable person, good luck with that) but it would be extremely discriminatory.