Japan's second shipment of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine is taken to a truck at Narita airport on Sunday. Photo: KYODO
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Kono warns of slower pace of COVID vaccine shots for elderly after supply delay

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38 Comments
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the Japanese government have failed its people and cost lives due to its slow rollout of a vaccine.

12 ( +16 / -4 )

No surprise, everything slow as usual.

Lets be realistic and adjust expectations according to the reality around here: we will reach herd immunity by the time the Tokyo 2032 Olympic Games start.

12 ( +14 / -2 )

"And no other makers have applied for approval in Japan."

Actually, Astrazeneca has applied for approval and they will produce in Japan.

1)AstraZeneca files for Japan approval of COVID-19 vaccine, second after Pfizer treatment

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-japan-astrazeneca-idUSKBN2A50JO

2) COVID-19: Japan to locally produce AstraZeneca vaccine

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/covid-19-japan-to-locally-produce-astrazeneca-vaccine/2125920

11 ( +12 / -1 )

No vaccination finished for all over 70’s by February 28, simple, Olympics cancelled.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Kono warns of slower pace of COVID vaccine shots for elderly after supply delay

What delay? A first batch has already arrived, and a second batch arrives today.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Unfortunate nonetheless, but not sure I’d refer to manufacturing delays as “shameful” as they ramp up to unprecedented production volumes. My question after the first 40k healthcare workers were vaccinated last week, is what is happening with the remainder of the nearly 800k doses received already? Was Pfizer’s emergency approval contingent upon the 7-week study of 20k people from the first group vaccinated?

6 ( +7 / -1 )

We'll, it's a good thing they've approved more than one. Oh, wait...

6 ( +8 / -2 )

He said it would be difficult to achieve the government's goal of completing vaccination of the elderly in two months and three weeks in large cities.

Today is February 21 Plus March, Plus April and two weeks into May. So those are the first doses. Should be all finished for the elderly by September, and then we start on those with conditions...and then the general public. Nice. By next year 2022 perhaps in March all should be completed. Long live the Olympics and tennis players.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

No surprise, everything slow as usual.

Yes!

Considering the whole COVID issue, Japan’s pandemic response was a disaster. Low test numbers, slow action, the "Abe mask", insane activities such as the GO TO campaigns, the Diamond Princess cruise management......everything.

The pandemic was big reputation damage for Japan. The country that adorns itself as the most efficient country, did a total disaster. South Korea did better management (starting from contact tracing) and it is a great humiliation for the Japanese government.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

In short the all the 30,000,000 elderly nation wide will be complete with second shot by around August or September. All of the rest of the population nation wide will not even have their first shot till 2022.

And lack of supply will be only a first in many issues, distribution, freezers, scheduling syringes and so on. And it will always be I am doing my best as the delay gets longer and longer

5 ( +5 / -0 )

@zoroto

Pfizer won't allow production in Japan,

the eu is limiting exports

And no other makers have applied for approval in Japan.

So unless you want Japan to bribe eu officials or pfizer. There isnt much that can be done.

3 ( +12 / -9 )

But is it really the supply delay ?

The vaccination procedure for influenza requires a nurse also consent with an A4 long list of questions. They will probably have to keep track of who's done what and where just in case there are problems.

So to vaccinate 120M people you will need 3.6B minutes.

Assuming supply isn't a problem and also we have found 30K nurses working in 3 shifts of 8 hours nonstop the theoretical best Japan can do is 20.000 per hour or 480K per 24. So that is about a 1M every 2 days or 8 months for everyone in Japan.

I think we would be lucky if we get vaccinated by 2026.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said 5,039 people had been inoculated at 68 medical facilities as of Friday.

Lets be clear, the government has NOT inoculated a single person! This vaccine is nowhere near effective until the second jab is administered. so let’s no pull a muscle patting ourselves on the back too hard, you don’t want to overburden the hospitals

Here’s a report from Israel, the country which has COMPLETED the highest percentage of inoculations to date

https://www.timesofisrael.com/240-israelis-diagnosed-after-vaccination-underscore-need-for-continued-vigilance/

2 ( +5 / -3 )

What a joke. Good ole BJ on the news today saying the entire UK population will have at least their 1st shot by the end of July. We won't even have started under 60s by then.

Someone said be grateful, it's free. Lol! You're funny. I'm perfectly willing to pay a hefty surcharge to skip the queue, I'm willing to fly (twice) to any relaxed quarantine country to get it done and over with because I, like many people, just want to f@ing travel somewhat normally again and get out of this bassakward country from time to time.

Japanese are going to be the last people in the developed world allowed to travel freely due to these douchebags in the government.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I do not mind. I am a procrastinator.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

This is neither surprising or particularly upsetting given the low expectations we have of the government. However, it does have consequences. More cases, more deaths, more people who don't get to recover fully, and more disruption to people's lives and the economy.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said 5,039 people had been inoculated at 68 medical facilities as of Friday.

Lets be clear, the government has NOT inoculated a single person! This vaccine is nowhere near effective until the second jab is administered. so let’s no pull a muscle patting ourselves on the back too hard, you don’t want to overburden the hospitals

Here’s a report from Israel, the country which has COMPLETED the highest percentage of inoculations to date

https://www.timesofisrael.com/240-israelis-diagnosed-after-vaccination-underscore-need-for-continued-vigilance/

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Its a total sham that the entire world is at the mercy of a private company. This shouldn't be happening. This should be a global effort. Instead, its a greedy one.

It is a ghobal effort. It is not a greedy one. Soon rich countries will be sending vaccines to poorer nations. Health worker's all over the world have worked around the clock, as have key workers. Millions have done their bit too by self-isolation and endured weeks of lockdown. Scientists have developed a vaccine in less than one year. That is a great effort.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Fish10

with respect you are allowing yourself and others to be held ransom.

we will never be free again if we accept endless jabs and the COVID passport

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Japan's not alone in having to delay vaccinations. Anyone here who blames the government obviously isn't on top of the subject, from a global perspective.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

One excuse after another, day after day. Instead doing something to prevent it in the future and/or learn from the mistakes, they point their fingers and blame everyone else.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

A lot of clueless (and malicious) people posting here (as usual)

The UK was the first country to start vaccinations.

We are still on the over 70's plus health workers.

No one from the general population at large is getting the jab.

There are supply issues.

Get informed people.

It won't kill you.

That#s a promise.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

"The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said 5,039 people had been inoculated at 68 medical facilities as of Friday."

At this pace, they will inoculate the first promised batch of 40,000 by April..."

Someone need some serious help with their math.

Japan started on Wednesday. The story said as of Friday. So that is about 2517 a day. 40,000/2517

Thats about 16 days. They should finish around March 8th.

Think.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

People are not all equal but different and have different specialized capabilities. Get used to it, instead of always denying those facts. For example, some are good at robotics, some are leading in IT, some professionally dedicated to vaccine development and some can nothing else than running marathons at highest pace. So the real problem is the rivalry instead of cooperating and in addition no real own efforts to balance those deficits out. That means in this current case, all countries or areas still can’t develop or produce vaccines although they had months of time , just have to wait now at the end of the waiting line. In other fields others have to wait longer, for an industry, for robots or an IT structure...

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

I am searching online for a vaccine passports, so I can travel all over Asia once again.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Its a total sham that the entire world is at the mercy of a private company. This shouldn't be happening. This should be a global effort. Instead, its a greedy one.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

@Zoro: Plus not going to Thailand. Taiwan and about 8 other places on our bucket list for the next 18 months.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

@zoro: But both of us have already had it. Don't think I will get it again.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

"Shameful? Absolutely."

Yup, Shame on Pfizer and the EU.

"Citing what he said was a delay until May of a production capacity increase by Pfizer,"

-9 ( +4 / -13 )

a group of about 36 million, vaccinations will start in April under the schedule set by the health ministry.

Currently many people in Japan refuse the vaccine.

So anyway, 36 million people will not go to a hospital to take their vaccine in April.

So if there is a delay to May or even June, it will be no problem.

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

The japanese government is doing its Best that it can.

In my opinion, people who are Nonstop complaining about the japanese Government that they are late with the vaccine and so on, should be put at the end of the Line to receive that vaccine.

Probably the vaccine will be for free ot at a cheap price, but people who are Nonstop complaining are not deserving this cheap or free gift from the government. Not in the beginning. They should wait!

I guess, after these people receive this gift from the government, they will continue to complain about the same government, who gave them a help to protect their health.

-18 ( +2 / -20 )

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