Fourth Wave Of COVID-19, Japanese Ministry Of Defense Opens Mass Vaccination Center

Illustration of COVID-19 in Japan. (Wikimedia Commons / nakashi)

JAKARTA - Japanese authorities have announced that they will open a mass COVID-19 vaccination center in central Tokyo next month, Tuesday, April 27 local time.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said this step was taken in line with the approaching Tokyo Olympics. However, it has not yet been decided on the type of vaccine and the number of people who will receive the vaccine each day.

"We will announce the details after the defense ministry and local authorities make plans. The government will also support vaccination efforts in Osaka, in western Japan", Kato said, reported by Reuters on Tuesday, April 27.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry wrote down a tweet that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had asked to set up a mass vaccination center on May 24 with plans to operate for three months. This facility will serve residents in the capital and prefectures around Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday that the Tokyo vaccination center will inject about 10.000 people a day. Kyodo News said Monday that the government plans to use Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine. So far, Japan has relied on imported vaccines from Pfizer in limited quantities.

Separately, Vaccine Minister Taro Kono said that this program is expected to be rolled out in May, along with accelerated delivery of the Pfizer vaccine.

Apart from that, the regulator is expected to make decisions regarding the use of Moderna's vaccine, which has planned to purchase 50 million doses. Not only that, but the government also plans to buy 120 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

To note, Japan declared its third state of emergency in Tokyo last Sunday, amid efforts to combat the fourth wave of COVID-19 in less than three months after the Tokyo Olympics were held. Japan has recorded around 564.000 cases of COVID-19 infection, with 9.969 deaths.