Japan will begin vaccinating its healthcare workers Wednesday with 40,000 doctors and nurses from 100 hospitals across the country receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, according to Japan vaccine distribution chief Taro Kano.
Of those 40,000, we have asked 20,000 doctors and nurses to keep a diary of their health conditions, temperature, headaches and whatever happens to them, “Kano said.” We will be monitoring them for 21 days and will get a second look starting from March 10. “
After the first round of doctors and nurses, the rollout will continue for 3.7 million doctors, pharmacists, nurses, ambulance drivers and other frontline workers, Kano added.
Attacks on the elderly begin in April and the country aims to complete public immunization within the year.
Olympics involved: The release comes as Japan plans to host the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in July, despite an increase in public competition and rising costs.
An opinion poll last month by national broadcaster NHK found that 77% of people in Japan think the Games should be postponed or postponed further, largely because of the bumps- a logical barrier that stands to hold such a major event in the midst of public health. emergency.
The country’s medical system has overflowed, even though the world’s largest per capita hospital beds are developed. Cases have doubled in the last two months to more than 406,000, stretching Japan’s medical system to be.
Japan was among the last major economies to agree to the use of coronavirus vaccine and start its spread, raising further questions about the country’s ambitious plan to reach the necessary immune levels in time for the -competition.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said last month that his government is “determined” to deliver a “safe and secure Olympics”. ”
Kano, the head of the vaccination efforts, said at a press conference on Tuesday that “the Olympics are not on my schedule … we need to think about the hard volume of supply and then come up with a target that we could have, “when asked when Japan is expected to meet the herd protection standard.