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© KYODOJapan to roll out Omicron booster shots free of charge from Tuesday
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54 Comments
virusrex
A welcome development that hopefully will help reducing even more the risk from infection, obviously the people at highest risk should be the first to be vaccinated, but even healthy young people are at risk from omicron so anybody for whom the shots are approved would benefit from a booster if their previous vaccinations are months away, a lower benefit is not the same as no benefit.
Hopefully people will also get vaccinated against influenza, it is expected that the risk from getting it is going to increase this year because of the relaxation of measures against respiratory infections, so a well immunized population would help preventing unnecessary stress to the health services.
dan
Pass on all the shots....no thanks !!
geronimo2006
Surprisingly fast.
virusrex
That is still false, even if every single change of formulation do not require clinical data (as it has been for yearly influenza shots for a long time) clinical data for omicron boosters is included in the information for the approval.
Michael Machida
I have had all my shots. I am finished with it. Your immune system is the number one line of defense. I know 5 people who never received any shot and they are all fine. I wonder if the shots I received was worth it. So, now I am done with all new shots from this point on. Eat well. Sleep well. Exercise much. Stress down. You'll be fine. Seemingly.
theResident
This is good news - Get it out the way hopefully before winter is upon us. Why all the fuss about testing (and all the 8 mice lies) - Its the same, safe formulation that we've had for almost 18 months in Japan with the extra bit to protect us from what could be the nasty effects of Omicron. I will be getting my flu shot too as we are expecting a particularly nasty season after effectively missing out on 2 years due to mask wearing and extra hygiene. I really don't care about the anti-vaxxer mob and their whining anymore. Enough of us did our bit and will continue to do so. They are all just hot air now and irrelevant.
didou
Any clear scientific data to assert that healthy young are at risk ?
You are really pushing for vaccination.
In Japan, the official ministry recommendation is to vaccinate over 65 yo,
noriahojanen
It's NOT free, but covered eventually by tax money. Its spending should be consensual with the will of the public. I think that a shot should be charged like ones for seasonal flu (but covered partially by national insurance).
According to recent polls and expert proposals, the majority of Japanese prefer to drop covid into a lower category (where common flu or less lethal and infectious disease are designated) DESPITE a possible self-payment. That's our consensus.
With the peak gone,the programme will benefit mostly a few covid-related businesses including med doctors who get subsidies in proportion to the amount of shots. We already have a fraud case, that's outrageous :(
ワクチン接種 偽装疑いの医師 “生理食塩水 打ったことも”
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20220914/k10013817941000.html
Kaowaiinekochanknaw
If you are young and healthy according to these experts from Oxford and Toronto et al, it maybe actually more prudent to wait until older or have some outlying issues to get any of these due to the risk / benefit analysis.
Remember, not every benefit, is greater than the risk.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4206070
Mio
Good Job J government. Thank you.
Newgirlintown
Great news! Don’t listen to the ‘tin foil hat brigade’ with their talk of 5G and microchips!
Aaron J
Got my updated Moderna yesterday morning, i ran a 101F fever all night and am just now recovering (20:00 here). I needed it to get into Japan. I guess it was so I don’t get sick.
Sanjinosebleed
waste of time. Omicron and the rest of the world has moved on so should Japan!
virusrex
Every epidemiological data published includes victims of many ages groups and that include people with no other identified problems.
Do you have any reports that says a population is guaranteed to be free of problems from covid?
There is no problem with saying that safe and effective health care measures should be used, that is the whole purpose of having them in the first place. Making baseless accusations of those measures to be negative and misleading people to refuse them is what is negative.
That is false even according to this article you are commenting on, the shots are now available and recommended for 60yo and above and medical personnel, and from mid october to those 12yo and above that have had their primary inoculations.
It says the same in the government official communications
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/covid-19/booster.html
Why repeat false information that is easy to debunk?
virusrex
And what is the consensus from the professionals that deal with infectious diseases? it obviously is more important to know what is actually recommendable according to scientific evidence than knowing what is popular.
the same that it blocked vaccines for children (something that never happened)?
One thing is to have the boosters offered for a population (including people less than 50yo) another completely different is to "block" it for anybody that would like to be vaccinated.
https://www.thelocal.dk/20220913/covid-19-denmark-expects-to-bring-updated-jab-into-vaccination-programme/
When your argument depends on having no empathy for the lethal victims that still are dying because of covid, and also the recommendations of the experts that still call for caution and measures to prevent unnecessary deaths it does not carry any real weight.
Kenchi
Nice scientific comeback! It’s evident you’ve obviously done your homework and think for yourself. That will win them over for sure… Thumbs up!
Ichigo
Thousands of people contract COVID, and hundreds of people die from COVID every day, even in Japan where masking and vaccination metrics are relatively high. Does this mean that masks and vaccinations have no efficacy? No, this means that even more people would be contracting COVID and dying from it without the masking and vaccinations.
If in doubt, please study how viruses mutate and how they are actually contracted, and you won't have to rely on conspiracy theories. Scientists and medical experts have known about coronaviruses long before COVID-19, while the general population just went about their business spreading and contracting the traditional cold and influenza viruses.
Mask up. Get the Omicron-variant-targeted vaccine. Even if you don't care about your own health and life, care about the health and lives of others. Science has proven from the start that there is never a 100% guarantee of protection, but the pandemic overall will be less devastating if people stop resisting scientific truths.
Jimizo
Thanks for sharing, people.
Virtue well and truly signaled.
I love the ‘wake up’ line. They are truly ‘woke’.
wtfjapan
Pass on all the shots....no thanks !!
and arent you lucky that Japan doesnt mandate the vaccine to all citizens,
just be sure to get your kid inoculated for diseases that once use to kill them, becuase you know vaccines have been working for decades
theResident
Well said @ichigo - as far as I'm concerned - Life for me IS normal now. I'm vaxxed, I will have the Omicron Booster. I will have the flu vaccine. I will wear a mask in the train and shops that require as its just the social norm here. Its not a 'mandate'' I will go to bars, I will go out to dinner. @Sanji's constant mantra about moving on isn't quite the truth. I suggest he reads this : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-62830326
I don't agree with what goes in China - but a timely reminder the world has NOT moved on when a country with what? 19% of the worlds population has NOT moved on.
The world has not moved on. He just wants to visit Japan without having to do any tests etc. Very dull posts that contribute nothing.
wtfjapan
Mask up. Get the Omicron-variant-targeted vaccine. Even if you don't care about your own health and life, care about the health and lives of others.
theres no convincing antivaxxers, its not until they or a family member are in hospital on a ventilator that they think the shot may have been a better option, by then its too late, been widely reported through 1000s of hospital rooms throughout America.
the statistics are clear through multiple studies in multiple countries, unvaxxed are around 8_10 times more likely to end up in ICU than vaxxed individuals, yes there are many vaxxed individuals in hospital , but vaxxed individuals make up around 75% of the population, outnumber unvaxxed 3-1, so simple math
wtfjapan
waste of time. Omicron and the rest of the world has moved on so should Japan!
for you maybe , but not the majority of Japanese
virusrex
This assumption would mean covid would still be a significant risk for your health no matter how many times you are infected, so either your fear is unfounded (because covid would eventually be a risk comparable with the rest of the respiratory infections) or your refusal irrational (because covid would still be a significant risk for your life or health).
wtfjapan
The best thing I can do to protect myself is lose some weight.
and how do the elderly protect themselves
wtfjapan
i will be happy to leave mine for someone in need.as did with previous ones.
you make it sound like they reserves one for you, youve got to make reservation to get vaxxed, you didnt so one wasnt even reserved for you
wtfjapan
What, twice a year for the rest of our lives is it? Not a chance
flu vaccine is a yearly shot, so why all the fuss
Steven Mccarthy
EastmanToday 10:19 am JST
i will be happy to leave mine for someone in need.
as did with previous ones.
Nice spin …. If you actually live in Japan…. And you’re not vaccinated… you’re not even eligible for the new shots .!.
canigetawhatwhat
It would be interesting to see how many would pass on it if they charged for it. In any case, one more for the stash since Ill be passing on this and the next 50 rounds of boosters.
colenalperu
Would it be better to wait for the BA.5 variant vaccine, rather than taking the BA.1 vaccine in the next 2-3 months? I thought BA.5 was dominant in Japan?
For those at risk, it seems the original vaccines may be almost as effective as this new vaccine version against serious illness and hospitalization. If you need a 4th booster, the advice is to get it now rather than 'vaccine shopping'.
Monty
the shots tailored to the coronavirus BA.1 subvariant
Pfizer on Tuesday submitted an application for its bivalent vaccines that work against the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5,
This vaccine here is just for the BA.1 variant, and not for the BA.4 and BA.5.
The vaccines for BA.4 and BA.5 are still under application.
That means, for the BA.4 and BA.5 you need one additional vaccine shot.
So two more shots to cover the BA1, BA4 and BA5.
Which means in total, within the last one year: 5 - 6 shots!!!
5 - 6 times vaccinated within one year? My goodness!
And If a new variant appears...you probably need an additional shot.
Brian William Meissner
As a long Covid patient or as someone with a post viral condition please talk to your doctor before getting a booster. I’ve been medically advised to not get the booster until I’m 100%…. I’m not anti vax but please talk to your doctor if it’s in your best interest to get the vaccine with any medical condition you may have.
Brian William Meissner
Brian William Meissner
fallaffel
A lot of experts here preaching that vaccines are dangerous but covid isn't. Or that covid can only harm you if you're overweight and old. Who should I trust, them, or the majority of doctors around the world? It's a tough call.
Monty
@Elvis
That article, the more you read it, the better it gets.
You do understand that you need an additional vaccine shot for the BA.4 and BA.5, right?
So how many vaccine shots are you ready to take?
Where is your limit?
I think this is the question which everyone should ask himself.
But I guess there are some people without any limit.
Are we not always told, consume in moderation to stay healthy?
But countless vaccine shots don't sound for me like a moderate consume.
But yeah...we are all adults here and grown up to make our own decisions.
Hervé L'Eisa
If you like the vax, then by all means get as many as you want. So, be liberal and allow others the liberty to make their own decisions.
painkiller
People aged 60 and older and medical workers will be eligible for the shots tailored to the coronavirus BA.1 subvariant from Tuesday, the ministry said, as Japan ramps up efforts on additional inoculation against the BA.5 subvariant that has fueled its seventh wave of COVID-19 infections.
Quick prediction that there will plenty of these left on the shelves. They'll have to give them away.
Again.
Monty
*That's probably not going to be how this all works out.*
You nailed the point: Probably.
Probably means, maybe yes...maybe no.
So far the tendency doesn't look good to me.
Like I said above, When we took all the current and upcoming shots, we reached already 5 -6 shots.
And that within 1 year!
But I agree with you, or let me better say, I also hope that, That's not going to be how this all works out....without probably.
As many as necessary.
This is also a point to consider...is it really necessary?
But again, to come back what I said above, we are all adults and grown up to decide by ourselves what is necessary and what not.
I have to go back to work.
Have a nice day.
Raw Beer
That recommendation is somewhat reasonable. Anyone below that age should stay away from it, if they don't have any other health issues. Below that age, the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA products were found to cause over 4 serious adverse effects for every hospitalization they prevented:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36055877/
Sanjinosebleed
But then those 8 mice would have died for nothing..... ;)
virusrex
Which in reality has no importance, the subvariants are not that different antigenically so getting a booster that increase the immunity against all known omicron variants is a good enough development, not every single difference in the protein is translated to higher or lower neutralizing immunity.
So no, this do not mean you will need an extra shot for every variant that is present or will appear, the same way nobody needed a new vaccine for every variant identified before omicron. What is being considered is if it could be convenient to use one or other formulation for the booster, not one and then the other.
And who is saying the opposite, what is not valid is to misrepresent reality and give false or misleading information to pretend a personal decision is reasonable when it is not.
As long as the experts say it is worth because of a decrease of the risk there is nothing wrong with that, on the contrary, letting more people use a safe and more effective health care intervention is something that should be celebrated.
No, that is possibly, not probably.
Not at all, one thing is that some people benefit specially from something, another completely different is that the rest of the population do not benefit at all. In this case those with special vulnerabilities are the priority, not the only ones that would benefit.
One would think that once a badly made report was heavily criticized for assuming every negative effect after a vaccine was automatically because of the vaccine (as if it never happened on unvaccinated people) or for comparing apples to oranges (so if one person gets a month in the ICU for covid, while another gets muscular pain, headache and diarrhea for a day after the vaccine it is counted in the report as 1 hospitalization vs 3 side effects) then newer reports would avoid making the same mistakes that invalidate the results, unfortunately this is not the case, people are willingly choosing to repeat the same "mistakes" that invalidate previous reports all over again.
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/peer-review-fail-vaccine-publishes-antivax-propaganda/
Japan Violet
I'm not one for taking unnecessary medicine. I am shocked that so many people decide to shame others for what should be a choice. I guess that is the current state of affairs. Mindless followers.
Gerd Mann
Cited from a comment: "I know 5 people who never received any shot and they are all fine. I wonder if the shots I received was worth it."
I always wonder why mankind invented controlled clinical trials and epidemiology when hearsay and anecdotal reports suffice as evidence.
To those who complain about vaccination and other forms of prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, I recommend taking a look at the past, when such remedies did not exist. Smallpox is just one example.
wtfjapan
So, be liberal and allow others the liberty to make their own decisions.
I dont give too hoots if people get vaxxed or not, what really pees me off are the lies and misinformation
about the vaccine that people use to justify not taking it. dont want it fine, then unless you have proven medical peer reviewed evidence that the vaccine is ineffective or dangerous then people should keep their OPIONONS to themselves, opinions are not facts unless there is evidence to back it up
Nihon Tora
I imagine that this will become a roughly annual thing for the foreseeable future, the vaccine being tweaked fairly regularly and recommended to those at high risk and anyone else that wants it much like the influenza shot. No big deal. No need for paranoia or conspiracy theories. On the other hand, taking the vaccine should be entirely an individual choice - no need for any kind of coercive policies, no need for shaming those who choose to or not to take it for whatever reason.