Syringe shortage hampers Japan's COVID-19 vaccination roll out (updated)
16/02/2021 05:13
(Recasts lead, adds Kato comment on vaccine waste)
By Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Fears are growing in Japan, where
an inoculation drive against COVID-19 will begin on Wednesday,
that millions of doses of Pfizer vaccine could be wasted due to
a shortage of special syringes that maximise the number of shots
used from each vial.
The government has made urgent requests, but manufacturers
are struggling to ramp up production fast enough, creating the
latest headache for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who suffers
from weak public support.
"We are still trying to secure these special syringes,"
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said on Tuesday.
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.
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.
When asked last week, Kato did not directly answer questions
whether the shortage of the ideal syringe meant the number of
shots Japan can administer would be reduced, but on Tuesday he
conceded that without it there would be waste.
"When it comes to what's left in vials and syringes, what's
unused will be disposed of," Kato said.
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 Japan's population swiftly is a top priority for
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;))