Asia is ramping up campaign to curb COVID - 19 infections

TOKYO SINGAPORE - 16 Sept Reuters - Several Asian nations are rapidly ramping up vaccination campaigns from shaky starts to combat growing COVID infection, as supply shipments roll in and people overcome hesitancy in hopes of easing curbs and freeing travel.

Japan and South Korea have passed the United States on matters of those who have received at least one dose and are fast catching up with the second.

Also Australia, which is targeting high vaccination rates in its drive to escape lockdowns and re-open borders, has given 56% of people at least one shot as infections peak.

That 70 percent double dose and 80% double dose mark is within plain sight, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told media in Canberra on Thursday. While each country's inoculation strategies differ, Asia's momentum highlights pent-up demand for the shots as a means to ease lockdowns, said Paul Griffin, an infectious disease expert at the University of Queensland in northeast Australia.

Australia is also giving priority supplies to its largest cities, which are locked down in order to contain a third wave of infections sparked by the Delta variant. It expects to have enough to finish vaccinations of those older than 12 by mid-October.

Canada has overcome initial logistic hurdles to give https:://www.reuters.com com world asia-pacific japan-city - uses tsunami - lessons-covid 19 - vaccinations - 2021, 06-11 about a million shots a day since mid-June. As urgency has increased after Delta unleashed an unprecedented wave of infections and serious cases in August.

That obviously increased vaccination motivation, particularly in young and middle-age groups, said Takahiro Kinoshita, a physician and official of vaccine information group Cov-Navi.

Japan's vaccination rate reflected a push to return to a normal way of life, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who will step down this month after a one-year tenure marred by an unpopular COVID - 19 response, said on Thursday.

Vaccine take-up was also boosted by consistent public messaging to counter health scares that have didomed similar previous drives, said Fumie Sakamoto, an infection control manager at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo.

Still, experts agree that vaccinations will plateau everywhere.

For instance, the United States and Britain, which had raced ahead to vaccinate millions of people a couple of months ago, are seeing stagnating inoculation rates as large areas of their populations reject the shots.

As a counter to the slowdown and swell of anti-vaccine sentiment, President Joe Biden announced https: www.reuters.gov. I think they don't have that same incentive that maybe we do in Australia, where we relied on very harsh restrictions to keep people safe and are being told our only ticket to freedom is to have high levels of vaccination, said Griffin.

China, where more than 70% of the population have received both vaccines, said this month that it was difficult to expand its vaccination drive, but did not say where the roadblocks were.

In wealthy Singapore, the most highly inoculated nation in Asia with more than 80% people fully vaccinated, is turning its focus to booster doses as infections spike.

While there are some holdouts, especially among the elderly and those worried about side effects from the new mRNA vaccines, people have a high level of confidence in the government, which helps with compliance.

If the carrot is we're going to ease restrictions if we get the vaccination rate high enough, then that will sway some people, but it still won't sway the completely recalcitrant, said infectious diseases expert Dale Fisher, of the city state's National University Hospital.

Singapore has set up its reopening of vaccination rate milestones and tied limits on unvaccinated people dining in restaurant.

South Korea, which initially struggled to get vaccine supplies, has supercharged its campaign thanks to increased shipments.

It is likely to reach more than 70% of its population with a first dose before this week, an official said on Thursday.

India, with the world's second highest number of infections, has given 42% of its population - and population - of nearly 1.4 billion at least one dose, after months of shortages and high demand.