Japan expects to receive 50 mil additional doses of Pfizer vaccine

There is just no sense of urgency at all

A little over 1.2 million health care workers and around 19,000 people aged 65 or older had received at least one shot of the two required shots as of Monday

Okay, that's after more than 2 months of vaccinations. That truly, and utterly pathetic.

Japan expects to receive 50 million additional doses of Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called on the pharmaceutical firm to boost supplies, government sources said Wednesday.

WHEN?

The key information is missing.

Taking delivery of the vaccines is one thing - getting them in enough people's arms is another. Given Japan's disconnected, private-sector medical institutions, which have already shown a lack of interest in cooperation, I'm not optimistic on the latter point.

Getting all those vaccines for whom? About half or so of Japanese people don't want to get it, 

Really? About half?

You generally find vaccine hesitancy decreases when the jabs are in full swing. The people left over tend to be hysterical types, conspiracy theorists, cranks and morons ( these groups do of course overlap ).

Japan could receive a gajillion extra doses but I won't make a difference if there aren't enough doctors to administer the shots. They need to allow nurses to administer the vaccine. Nurses can draw blood but they can't inject you. Smgdfh...

Wasn’t this already reported last week?

I was hoping it would be the usual case of planning forever, execute quickly but it’s simply not the fact.

Even doctors and nurses are not all vaccinated yet according to an article in the New York Times just last week.

“Dr. Eiji Kusumi, the director of the Navitas Clinic, a private network of medical clinics in Tokyo, said his workers had not been inoculated. “This is the same as World War II,” he said, “when the public was told, without bullets or food, to fight with bamboo spears.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/17/world/asia/japan-south-korea-australia-vaccines.html?referringSource=articleShare

About half or so of Japanese people don't want to get it

When the city one over from us started accepting reservations for elders to receive the vaccine, all available 975 places were booked in the first five minutes, the phone lines were clogged all day with people trying to get though, and a hundred or so people turned up at the City Hall to complain that they hadn't been able to get a reservation.

I haven't met a single person who does not want to be vaccinated.

If there were only half of the doses than all those daily announcements about future availability of doses we would already have reached complete immunity. lol

And I was going to say: I'm ineligible because I'm not stupid enough to take them.

Your parents were "stupid enough" to vaccinate you against several diseases that might have killed you when you were little so that you might grow up to badmouth vaccines and science on internet forums, so don't forget to thank them!

Oh great, 50 million more doses to sit in a warehouse and do nothing with until they go bad.

The problem hasn't seemed to be getting enough doses, it is actually doing anything with them. At least every medical worker should be vaccinated so they can be slinging out as many doses as they can possibly administer per day.

Keyword "expects" Except does not mean it is going to happen. I expect to win the lottery next month! Will I? Prob not.

They could double that number immediately by approving the Moderna vaccine.

End of September? I guess with this speed I might as well just go get the rona (and develop the necessary antibodies) just to get it over with...

What;’s with all the “when?, when?, when?” Suga promised last week it’s coming!...

... in September.

What are you guys doing between now and then?

Ooohhhh..50M ...is that not quite a bit ? How many freezers do you need for that ?

Now I am worried Japan won't be able to properly store the vaccines either.

Has anyone heard anything about the actual storage and handling plans for these ? Do we have to worry about that ? Virusrex?

What are you guys doing between now and then?

Holding the Olympics! Everyone "knows" they are more important than the health and wellbeing of the people!

oh no dont rush this.. its not 100% secure yet..

South Korea will be pumping out 100 million doses a month of Sputnik V from August. Japan should get an order in now.

Maybe they can ask TEPCO for help in long-term cryogenic storage.

This news sounds promising. I just hope they planned for the hot Summer, ie: the challenge of storing and distributing Pfizer vaccine at -70C during a 45C heat wave.

@smithinjapan - they were hoping a Japanese company would come up with a domestic vaccine, and/or until a major pharma company would team up with a Japanese producer to produce them locally. 

Thst's exactly what is happening now - Daiichi Sankyo are working with AstraZeneca to produce the vaccine here. They have a number of business agreements dating back a few years, and the vaccine production contract was signed off back in February 2021, IIRC.

Some smart districts in Tokyo are outsourcing the vaccination work to the local clinics. I will have 180 sites with 6km of me to chose from. While other districts which plan to do only large sites will probably be bogged down, and struggle to vaccinate in a timely manner. The info is up on your local district or city websites. Expecting this page to have all the answers is unrealistic, as every municipality sets their own plan.

The free market system would have ensured adequate supply more effectively than these advocates calls from Suga, I believe

@Jsapc

And I was going to say: I'm ineligible because I'm not stupid enough to take them.

Your parents were "stupid enough" to vaccinate you against several diseases that might have killed you when you were little so that you might grow up to badmouth vaccines and science on internet forums, so don't forget to thank them! THAT WAS HILLARIOUS! gREAAAT RESPONSE!

Paul said:

I'm also ineligible for the Pfizer vaccine. Because I don't want to come down ill after the second dose and die a few days later. In the event I survive it, I don't want to go through it again in 6 months.

I had the 2nd Pfizer shot on Monday morning. 2 days later, I've had ZERO issues. No complications. Actually, the arm pain was worse for the 1st shot. I didn't have any arm pain from the injection of the 2nd dose. I expected to get a fever and head ache, because that was the warning given. None of that has happened.

Few Facts, Millions Of Clicks: Fearmongering Vaccine Stories Go Viral Online

Ref: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/25/980035707/lying-through-truth-misleading-facts-fuel-vaccine-misinformation

According to recent data from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, you're three times more likely to get struck by lightning.

...

With social media platforms making more of an effort to take down patently false health claims, bad actors are turning to cherry-picked truths to drive misleading narratives.

...

But peddlers of misinformation, and even American adversaries, have discovered this gap in content moderation.

Russian state media such as RT and Sputnik News shared more than 100 stories linking the Pfizer vaccine to subsequent deaths of recipients, according to a recent report by the Alliance for Securing Democracy.

So, Paul, thanks for the misinformation. We know your goal. Put up references for all statements of fact, please.

Being the host nation for the Olympics, Japan should have been the leader in vaccinating its people on a timely basis in anticipation of the games. Now it’s pandemic is out of control while it fumbles it’s vaccination program

you have to wonder if this “slow approval process” is gunna cut it with the people of Osaka as the efforts of the central government to deal with reality eventually get examined and judged. (Perhaps the lack of any real opposition to the old LDP isn’t turning out too well)

September? Hmmm, good enough if you don’t know what’s going on in other countries efforts. I imagine this is what those in charge must be banking on. Planning retirements etc.

Hate to come down so hard, and I’m sure some people are working hard somewhere, but patience must be running thin.

Here's the latest on the different vaccines,

Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker: Latest Updates - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

https://www.nytimes.com/ interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html

@CoffeeDelxue

The "vaccine" was released for emergency use only. It's experimental and there are known and yet-unkown risks; potentially fatal.

I had Pfizer vaccine in March and it's less painful than your usual seasonal flu vaccine.

I would recommend Pfizer over Moderna, as Pfizer has fewer side effect than Moderna's.

Yeah good one Paul....

I just did a quick covid search and the result was

Cases

141M

Recovered

80.4M

Deaths

3.01M

Wait in line.

o.6% of the Japanese population has been giving one shot. America its at 40%. Glad to see Japan is gaining speed.

Zoroto: "Lol. What a nerve. The world's 3rd largest economy is beholden to a foreign company."

I suspect that's one reason why they waited so long before starting -- they were hoping a Japanese company would come up with a domestic vaccine, and/or until a major pharma company would team up with a Japanese producer to produce them locally. But after Suga was utterly embarrassed in the US over Japan's handling of Covid-19 and the vaccination rate (US having more than 50% of adults vaccinated, and Japan... what... 0.7%?) suddenly he's "acting swiftly".

I'm just curious, but then they make 50,000,000 vaccines, how do they guarantee that each one actually has the proper components that work.

Until these travel restrictions are eliminated, I simply won't travel to back to Japan. Not getting the experimental gene therapy "vaccine" may turn out to be safer than having taken it. Time will tell.

I am actually ineligible for the "vaccine", so I will not be taking them.

I'm also ineligible for the Pfizer vaccine. Because I don't want to come down ill after the second dose and die a few days later. In the event I survive it, I don't want to go through it again in 6 months.

@Paul

Agreed. They're talking about additional doses. Pfizer. That airport worker yesterday got covid. He'd been "vaccinated". Pfizer! Once you getthe "vaccine" you're "immune". But you can still catch covid and spread it to others, so social distance, wear a mask at all times and present to authorities documentation and reason for leaving your home should you be stopped and questioned. "Vaccines"! What kind of ... do you have to be to believe this ... ?!

Getting all those vaccines for whom? About half or so of Japanese people don't want to get it, including people in the medical community, so I think 60 milion in total would be fine.

I am actually ineligible for the "vaccine", so I will not be taking them.

The "vaccine" was released for emergency use only. It's experimental and there are known and yet-unkown risks; potentially fatal. Doesn't prevent you from catching covid. Doesn't prevent you from spreading covid. Will not get you off the hook for not wearing a mask; you'll get harassed. Doesn't prevent you from being told to stay home. Doesn't prevent you from being tested. Probably requires yearly boosts. Doesn't cover many strains of the virus. Costs money. Is a subscription to a disease you may not ever catch. 

You get the "vaccine" and you haven't heard the last of it.

So, Paul, thanks for the misinformation. We know your goal. Put up references for all statements of fact, please.

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/doctor-dies-second-dose-covid-vaccine/

https://nypost.com/2021/03/11/utah-mom-kassidi-kurill-dies-days-after-second-dose-of-covid-19-vaccine/

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/01/26/health-care-worker-dies-after-second-dose-of-covid-vaccine-investigations-underway/

These were only the first few results in a DuckDuckGo search for "healthy young person dies after second Pfizer jab."

I had the 2nd Pfizer shot on Monday morning. 2 days later, I've had ZERO issues.

I see. Well I wish you luck. Don't forget to still wear a mask or double mask, socially distance, wash your hands 30 times a day and etc. And then roll the dice again in 6 months.

Then of course is the fact it's an experimental technology. Obviously not a really effective experimental technology but regardless, who knows what it's going to to do in 6 months or a year.

Japan could quadruple triple the number of its citizens getting their jabs by OK'ing vaccines from China and Russia.

With far safer and in the case of Sputnik V, more effective vaccines. Cheaper to buy and far cheaper and easier to deploy is a nice bonus.

@Paul

And I was going to say: I'm ineligible because I'm not stupid enough to take them.

Japan could quadruple triple the number of its citizens getting their jabs by OK'ing vaccines from China and Russia.

Thank you, Suga-san!

So they secured enough MRNA vaccines for everyone. That is good.

My take on the situation is it will speed up much faster in May when more doses start arriving on a regular basis.

Those who are internet saavy and posting on this board should have no problems getting appointments. Be sure to call the English hotline as the Japanese one will probably be jammed for the first few days. It is like when you call the any english hotline(credit card, airlines, shipping service, etc) and you get through on a few rings, while the Japanese one is like 10-15 minute wait. In all likely hood, you may be able to get appointment easier than normal Japanese.

It would be nice if Mister Doughnut could give away free doughnuts like Krispy Kreme with Covid vaccine proof is doing in the states for free doughnuts a day through 2021.