Japan's vaccine minister says inoculation pace to accelerate in May (updated)

JCR Pharmaceuticals

29/03/2021 06:06

(Add quotes, details)
    By Rocky Swift and Elaine Lies
    TOKYO, March 29 (Reuters) - Japan's vaccine minister, Taro
Kono, said on Monday that the pace of coronavirus inoculation in
the country would accelerate in May, but that the Tokyo
Olympics, set to start in July, were not factoring into the
schedule.
    Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to have enough
doses for the country's 126 million people by June, before the
July 23 start of the Tokyo Olympics. Supplies have been
trickling in from Pfizer Inc.  PFE.N  factories in Europe, but
are expected to accelerate in the coming months.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2LE05Q
    "Starting in May, there will be no bottleneck in supply,"
Kono told Reuters in an interview. Officially the minister in
charge of administrative reform, Kono was tapped in January to
lead Japan's COVID-19 vaccination push.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2L60AS
    He added that he expected to be able to get 10 million doses
of vaccines each week in May but that the Olympics, which a
majority of Japanese have said should be postponed or cancelled,
were not a factor in his scheduling.
    Japan started its vaccination campaign last month, later
than most major economies and dependent on imported doses of
Pfizer's vaccine. Shots developed by AstraZeneca PLC  AZN.L  and
Moderna Inc  MRNA.O  now await local regulatory approval.
    Kono said the AstraZeneca vaccine would be approved
"hopefully sometime soon", adding that the decision was up to
the health ministry. Having the AstraZeneca vaccine made
domestically would save him from having to "worry about the
transparency mechanism" that the European Union has used to
limit exports of vaccines made there.
    "If we have somebody manufacturing vaccines in Japan, it
would take off half my headache," Kono said.
    As of Friday, just over 780,000 people in Japan, mostly
healthcare workers, have received at least one vaccine dose.
    While Japan has escaped the worst ravages of the pandemic
seen elsewhere, cases have begun ticking up again recently,
prompting concern among some officials about a potential "fourth
wave" of the pandemic. Adding to those concerns, a report quoted
by NHK national television warned that the country's vaccination
pace might not be able to keep up with the increase in cases. 
    Kono said that while the vaccine prevents symptoms, people
shouldn't depend on it alone and need to maintain preventive
measures such as wearing masks and hand washing.
    Though he frequently tops public opinion polls as a top
choice for prime minister, Kono sidestepped questions about when
he might take up the job. A general election needs to be held
later this year.
    "Right now, I'm doing my job," he said.

 (Reporting by Rocky Swift and Elaine Lies
Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Sam Holmes)
 ((rocky.swift@thomsonreuters.com))