Japan thanks Kono as vaccination minister as approval needed for Pfizer

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg

The questionable reformer announced by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to push for a massive vaccine release working swiftly on inoculations as the country approaches an agreement Photo Pfizer Inc. for the coronavirus.

Former defense minister Taro Kono said at a news conference Tuesday that he will do everything in his power to get as many people as possible as Japan looks at vaccines. start at the end of February. Kono is facing a public that is more skeptical about vaccines than it is in many countries and is tasked with leading a campaign that is going to be a real moment for Suga, whose support has fallen sharply due to what many see as errors in virus management.

Kono, named to the vaccination post late Monday, has been seen as a potential competitor in Suga as a key player. When Suga became prime minister in September, he nominated Kono to an administrative reform role in his cabinet rather than one of the traditional high-profile jobs, first raising suspicions that he was trying to push a competitor.

Kono said on a BS-TBS TV show ahead of the press conference that he would be responsible for coordination among various ministries and 1,700 local authorities that will ultimately administer the doses. He suggested that he could get help from the private logistics department, and did not deny that he could try to bring in the Self-Defense Forces or volunteers.

Japan will be one of the main economies slow to start inoculations and has adopted a more cautious approach than the likes of the US and the UK, which have already started vaccinations. But Japan has also received far fewer deaths from Covid-19 than many other developed countries, and had about the same number of recorded diseases in the past year than the U.S. fell on certain days in January .

Concern is also growing about the new variant first identified in the UK, with Japan’s Ministry of Health saying Tuesday’s community dispersal of the strain could be taking place in the country now finds mutation for the first time among people with no recent travel history.

Health Minister Norihisa Tamura he said last week he hoped the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine would be approved in mid-February, making it the first in the country. Tha Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. expect local clinical trials of The Novavax Inc. candidate. on Feb. 20, according to regulatory filing, while the Japanese drug dealer also plans to begin testing for Photo Moderna Inc. this week.