Syringe shortage hampers Japan's COVID-19 vaccination roll out
16/02/2021 03:12
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Japan is scrambling to secure
special syringes to maximise the number of COVID-19 vaccine
shots used from each vial, but manufacturers are struggling to
ramp up production quickly, raising fears that millions of doses
could go waste.
Japan, with a population of 126 million, last month signed a
contract with Pfizer Inc PFE.N to procure 144 million doses of
its vaccine, or enough for 72 million people, with the
vaccination campaign set to start on Wednesday.
One vial is meant for six shots, Pfizer says, but it takes
special syringes that retain a low volume of solution after an
injection to extract six doses, while only five shots can be
taken with standard syringes that the government has stored up
in preparation for the inoculation drive.
"We are still trying to secure these special syringes,"
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Tuesday.
He did not directly answer questions when asked last week
whether the shortage meant the number of shots Japan can
administer would be reduced.
Both a Pfizer Japan spokeswoman and a Japanese health
ministry official declined to say whether the contract to supply
Japan with 144 million doses of vaccine by the end of the year
is based on six doses being taken from each vial.
Inoculating its population swiftly is a top priority for
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government as he is determined
to hold the Tokyo Olympics this summer after the Games were
postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an bid to minimize the amount of vaccine left unused in
syringes and vials, the government is asking medical equipment
manufacturers to boost output of the low dead-space syringes,
but there are doubts whether that can be done quickly enough.
Nipro Corp 8086.T , which runs a Thailand plant capable of
making 500,000 units a month, said it planned to boost its
monthly capacity to a few million, but that it would take up to
five months to reach that goal.
"We are getting a request from the health ministry and we
need to take some steps. But it's not something we can do
overnight. It's another four to five months before we can ramp
up sharply," a Nipro spokeswoman said.
Another major Japanese medical gear maker Terumo Corp
4543.T said it had started developing syringes fit for
extracting six doses from a vial, but that it was too early to
say when it can start commercial output.
Although daily cases have been in decline in recent weeks in
Japan after peaking in early January, Tokyo and nine other
prefectures are still under the coronavirus state of emergency.
Japan has seen cases total around 418,000, with 7,042
deaths, according to public broadcaster NHK.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Additional reporting by Ritsuko
Ando; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
((kiyoshi.takenaka@thomsonreuters.com; +81 3 4563 2788;))