Japan taking cautious approach to COVID-19 vaccination rollout

30 people an hour?!?! Are you kidding me? At that rate it'll take 10 years to vaccinate the eligibile population.

I hope they listen to the nurse’s concerns about inappropriate venues.

Caution will cost lives in this situation. No point other countries vaccinating if Japan’s inherent risk averse culture means people and businesses will be reluctant to come here in the future. No way can Japan vaccinate enough of the population before the Olympics.

Those who turn up should already have decided to get vaccinated - a vaccination center is not the place to discuss pros/cons - those concerns should have been discussed with their doctors beforehand. I am certain beforehand there will be lots of information available on the types of people (conditions) that should be wary or should not get one.

Japan's inherent bureaucratic mindset hinders any semblance of risk assessment or emergency management. Further, there have been so many instances of politicians doing exactly what they were not supposed to be doing in this crises like dining out or being careless with the protocols that they themselves enacted that they are almost paralyzed with fear from anymore incidents. Deer in the headlights syndrome.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga san, you are in a dream world, with bureaucrats in bibs play-acting a catastrophe in the making.

With respect, your time has come and gone.

Old idiots, can't make a decision even if a global virus or nuclear accident arms crossed and they are angry at the source rather then making any decision to help others.

scum I say scum

Consultation phase needs to be done before they show up.

Good job J-government! It looks like we are working out all details before we start. Japan should be able to avoid all the problems that are occurring in the west. The west should learn from Japan on how to organize events such as these. Well done!!

Hoping for the best! Goodluck Japan.... Gambatte

I am glad Japan is taking measure to social distance those getting the vaccine! It makes perfect sense to board a packed train, go get the Vaccine, and then board a packed train going home! Make sure each person getting vaccinated gets a free voucher to use for the "Go to Grave" campaign, that they can redeem on the packed train on the way home!

The mock vaccination targeted a rapid pace -- inoculating 30 people per hour --the city hopes roughly 200 people a day

My local doctor, who has a tiny clinic and only a receptionist as staff, has been told by the local council that he will be expected to vaccinate 100 people a day, in addition to his other work as a family doctor.

It's a step in the right direction so proportional credit where it's due I guess...

As an aside, no vaccine is 100% effective and it take 2 jabs weeks apart which most people haven't yet rcvd' (abroad of course) so getting tired of hearing how some people who had the first jab still passed away from C19.

It's inevitable that some people who are vaccinated are still going to fall ill (again, because no vaccine is 100% effective) and some of them, sadly, will pass away.

Not saying there won't be long term side effects (Google: 'Norway vaccine narcolepsy' to see how things can take a slightly unexpected turn) but some people need to get a better handle on what a vaccine does and doesn't do to help stop the spread of misinformation.

The central government has secured a supply of coronavirus vaccines sufficient for 157 million people from two U.S. pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc, and Britain's AstraZeneca Plc.

That is more than enough to cover Japan's entire population of 125 million people.

But none of them has been approved, and one pending on 200, yes 200 JAPANESE volunteers. Are the so called reauests for one shot or two? All of the companies listed require two shots.

Clearly they're dragging their feet.

Now the questions is, why?

Germany not certified Astra Zeneca for over 65s ( lack of evidence it even works) so that is not going to be much use to Japan where over 65s are the first to be vaccinated. The other one needs the super freezers so is going to be a nightmare for distribution. How are the elderly in the countryside going to get that? It will be lucky if even every prefecture can have those super freezers and speed of vaccination will be limited by limited storage of the vaccine. Will the bus small town residents to the capitals where the super fridges are! Even the first stage of the vaccinations will take months or years

Looks like it'll be a photo-finish with the Daiichi decontamination.

lol

The Pfizer vaccine, the only one already under review by the health ministry, is expected to gain approval on Feb 15 when the ministry holds a panel meeting, sources close to the matter said earlier this month.

So a week after Suga resigns since he only has a week left to get Covid-19 under control as he promised to do so on the 7th of January. Time is ticking down.

Demonstrating Tokyo's commitment to safety?

I think Tokyo's commitment to safety has been demonstrated by GoTo Travel, political bonenkai, visits to hostess bars. A lack of testing and contact tracing demonstrates Tokyo is more committed to the Olympics than testing.

Consultation phase needs to be done before they show up.

Quite so, and it will probably take at least another two years to get the vaccination to everyone too!

The central government has secured a supply of coronavirus vaccines sufficient for 157 million people from two U.S. pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc, and Britain's AstraZeneca Plc.

Doses not vaccines, big difference. Remember Moderna's requires two innoculations, so even if Japan contracted for 157 million doses, that is only 75 million people

A plan recently surfaced within the central government to dispatch medical students to the venues to cope with a shortage in staff, only to be dismissed after meeting opposition from the education ministry, government sources said.

The health ministry was also critical, with one ministry official saying, "It's ridiculous. Who will take responsibility if a problem occurs?"

Then how come the health ministry wasn't trying to deal with the manpower shortage which had long been predicted and pre-warned by many experts since last summer, months before the third wave? It's obviously professional negligence.

With covid19 being designated as Tier II or the secondary highest, even non-medical routine assignments at hospital such as regular cleanups (can easily be handled by ordinary janitors) must be done only by licensed healthcare professionals under full protection. No wonder manpower is always short and wrongly distributed. Time to review the category and overall strategy.

The mock vaccination targeted a rapid pace -- inoculating 30 people per hour -- as the city hopes roughly 200 people a day can get a jab in a venue of a similar size. That is feasible if local officials can handle 30 people every hour and continue it for seven hours.

Rapid pace, 30 people per hour LOL, wait ... are we talking about Tokyo here???? (sorry but I couldn't keep back my laughter) Are you f.. kidding me??

@Robert Cikki ahaha good one!

(Suga) With respect, your time has come and gone.

His time came and went before he even came. He's kind of a time traveler that way.

@RGsilence You do realize, that this is per location and their would surely be more of that? Doing just 10 clients an hour is difficult for a doctor if there still has to be any form of communication beforehand. And at least in most civilized countries it is a custom to discuss risks (which will vary by person), before receiving any injection.

The test run progressed smoothly and at its target pace, except for the consultation stage.

This is so Japanese. Even when you take your car in for an oil change, you have to sit down and be "consulted" by staff and the mechanic. I'm wondering if hospital staff will also offer me a cup of coffee or tea while I wait for my vaccination.

Taihen taihen da.

What is normal abroad ends up being difficult. In every country PCR tests swabs are taken by trained non medical staff in Japan it is a doctor. The inability to make quick decisions and adjust rapidly to crisis is well known and has not and will never change.

Informative information you provide for us.

The mock vaccination targeted a rapid pace -- inoculating 30 people per hour ...

missed a zero? 300 per hour? I hope so but I doubt it.

The mock vaccination targeted a rapid pace -- inoculating 30 people per hour ...

missed a zero? 300 per hour? I hope so but I doubt it.

It's probably per person. So that's basically 2 minutes per person in one booth, which is pretty fast.

Unless it's 30 in the whole site then, yeah, we're doomed.

Unfortunately, I have witnessed and heard of some horrendous happenings in hospitals here so I have little faith in the government’s vaccination program.

Lives are at stake. Most important priority.

Unless it's 30 in the whole site then, yeah, we're doomed.

Er...

So, they could have certified the vaccine 2 months earlier? And in those 2 months about 3500 people have died?

Of course, the vaccine wouldn't have prevented those deaths exactly, but it doesn't seem unreasonable to assume that 2 months delay of vaccinations would lead to around 2 months of excess deaths.

But of course, we don't want to 'take any risks!'. I think my idea of risk and theirs are very different.

Using medical students to do vaccinations when there aren't enough medical staff available is apparently a crazy risk, but vaccinating less people is apparently not a crazy risk at all!

Volunteer vaccinators. None are health care professionals but are given training.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/health-55819364

German health minister Jens Spahn said he expects the European Union’s drug regulator to authorize a coronavirus vaccine made by AstraZeneca on Friday, but it may not be recommended for people over 65 because of insufficient data

I seriously don't get how in an earthquake or tsunami you're supposed to keep calm but with covid running round like a headless chicken and screaming in hysterics is seen as a good thing

Humans become numb to existing, long-term, threats because they've survived them previously. It is the new threats that scare us. Xenophobia is real. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200205/why-we-fear-the-unknown The solution? Expose yourself to unknowns, until they become known. Most of us don't fear influenza, because we've probably had a mild case and got over it after a few days in bed. But some people die from serious influenza every year. Much more than our human risk-understanding brains would think.

Sorta unrelated, but Johnson and Johnson will be seeking US FDA approval for their 1-dose COVID vaccine soon. They are claiming 66% effectivity at preventing and 85% effectivity at drastically reducing covid symptoms. https://www.businessinsider.com/jj-one-dose-covid-vaccine-late-stage-trial-results-2021-1 They are studying whether a 2-dose use would increase the effectiveness.

Good job J-government! It looks like we are working out all details before we start. Japan should be able to avoid all the problems that are occurring in the west. The west should learn from Japan on how to organize events such as these. Well done!!

What problems in the west?

Learn what?

Norway reported that some terminally ill people died.

I don't know why, but I imagined hearing the late George Carlin's voice as I read that.

Hopefully Japan can resolve this problem soon

Japan's bureaucrat's stance toward citizens didn't really change since World War II. People don't really matter and are last on the list of priorities. Let them die, who cares!

Is the guy behind Suga-san’s left shoulder using color pencils and a coloring book??

Why are the Ministries concerned with using trainees? Could it be, for example, Apr. 7, 2020 - “18 trainee doctors who ignored dining ban infected with coronavirus”. *“A plan recently surfaced to dispatch medical students to cope with a shortage in staff, only to be dismissed from the education ministry, ... The health ministry was also critical,... "It's ridiculous. Who will take responsibility if a problem occurs?"**