Japan begins administering COVID booster shots for those who have received their second injections

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Japan begins administering COVID booster shots for those who have received their second injections

On the morning of December 1, Japan started administering COVID 19 booster shots for those who have received their second injections.

People over the age of 18 who have received their second shot at least eight months ago can be vaccinated, because of the booster shot's intent to prolong the effectiveness of coronaviruses. The roll out began despite uncertainties about the effectiveness of current vaccines against the new omicron variant, which is spreading worldwide.

At the Tokyo Medical Center, operated by the National Hospital Organization in the capital's Meguro Ward, 18 doctors and nurses who received their second dose in advance this spring received their third dose of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine. Kazuhiro Araki, who was the first to be inoculated, said I'm very relieved that the administration of third booster shots has started smoothly. A very important step in getting patients and families to visit the hospital has begun. Noriko Horiuchi, who observed the shots being administered, said she would not comment on the effectiveness of the vaccines against the omicron variant, which is currently being examined by experts. She stressed that the third booster shot is beneficial because of the conventional coronavirus strain. Many countries, including the United States and those in Europe, where booster shots are already underway, have decided to administer the third dose after about six months from the second one. The six month interval has been increased to three months after the U.K. confirmed the omicron strain.

It's not known how effective the vaccines are against the omicron strain, and pharmaceutical companies and national governments are continuing to conduct analyses of the mutant strain.

The Japanese government set the interval at eight months in principle due to the rollout system among local governments and vaccine supply. There may be more calls for a review of the interval, depending on the infection status and future developments regarding the effectiveness of COVID shots.

The Japanese government has signed a contract with Pfizer for 120 million doses and Moderna Inc. for 50 million doses of booster shots. For the time being, Japan will administer the Pfizer ones, which have been approved for booster shots. The Moderna vaccine is expected to be used in February next year, and will be examined by the end of December.

Regardless of the type of vaccine administered for the first and second doses, people can receive whichever vaccine company, Pfizer or Moderna, for their third shot.

There are 97 million people who have received their second COVID vaccine as of Nov. 30 according to the prime minister's office. The administration of booster shots is limited to medical staff during December, but it will gradually expand to include elderly people and the general public from January 2022, and to workplace vaccines from March.

Most people will receive their third booster shot between March and April next year, and it is expected that more than 20 million people will be subject to the additional COVID vaccines, based on the records of the first and second doses. The Japanese government has set the period for people to receive the free third booster shots up to September of next year.