In a bid to accelerate its COVID-19 vaccination campaign amid the Olympic Games looms large, Japan will open a mass inoculation centre in central Tokyo next month, the source close to the development said on Tuesday.
Japan imposed a third state of emergency in its major population centres on Sunday, as the country endeavors to combat a fourth wave of infections with just 87 days remaining until the scheduled start of the Games.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Defense Ministry tweeted it had been asked by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to set up the Tokyo vaccination centre by May 24 with plans for it to operate for three months. The facility will service residents in the capital and the surrounding prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa.
Local media reported the government planned to use Moderna Inc's vaccine to inoculate about 10,000 people each day at the centre. However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said those decisions had not yet been made. Meanwhile, Toyota City in central Japan said it was setting up vaccination centres with the help of Toyota Motor Corp. The carmaker will offer up about 450 staff and four sites to start operations on May 30, city officials said in a statement.
Japan began vaccinating its sizable elderly population this month but only about 1.5% of the country's entire 126 million population has been inoculated, according to a Reuters tracker. Officials have so far been dependent on limited imported doses of Pfizer Inc's vaccine, but vaccine Minister Taro Kono has said he expects the programme to pick up in May when Pfizer shipments are due to accelerate.
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