Why did Japan take so long to start Covid-19 vaccines, even with the Olympics approaching

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In Japan, only about 18,000 doses have been given, according to the Japanese government.

Like the US, Japan is using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as part of their program. But Japanese rulers took another two months to allow it to be used.

The government says it has deliberately been cautious. After a series of vaccine scandals stretching back 50 years, Japan has one of the lowest levels of vaccine confidence in the world – so it’s important to win over a skeptical public.

However, some medical professionals have criticized the decision to move slowly, including Drs. Kenji Shibuya, a professor at King’s College London, who says delay in Japan and its vaccination strategy will cost lives.

Medical staff are awaiting consultations after receiving a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Tokyo on February 17, 2021.

Careful approval process

Pfizer-BioNTech conducted extensive Phase 3 clinical trials of their vaccine over several months late last year at approximately 150 clinical trial sites in the US, Germany, Turkey, South Africa, Brazil and Argentina.
On November 19, the companies announced that the vaccine showed 95% effectiveness in preventing Covid-19 diseases. Two weeks later, the UK became the first Western country to approve the vaccine for emergency use, followed by the US on 11 December.
On 31 December, the World Health Organization (WHO) also approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use.

Japan’s agreement came six weeks later, on February 14, after an internal test of less than 160 participants revealed results that were consistent with the international tests. According to Japanese standards an agreement was reached quickly – the process usually takes anywhere from one to two years. But critics say the delay will cost the government valuable time.

“With a sample size of 160 people, it will not give you any scientific evidence of efficacy or safety (vaccination),” said Shibuya, from King’s College.

Taro Kono, the minister in charge of Japan’s coronavirus vaccine distribution, said the country’s clinical trial was conducted to build public confidence in the program.

“I think it’s more important for the Japanese government to show the Japanese people that we have done everything we can to ensure the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine – to encourage the Japanese people to get the vaccine, “At the end of the day, we may have started more slowly, but we thought it would be more effective. “

Scandal and nostalgia

According to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet that mapped vaccine confidence in 149 countries between 2015 and 2019, less than 30% of people in Japan strongly agreed that vaccines were safe, important and effective – the compared to 50% in the US.
The Japanese vaccine fight dates back to the 1970s when two babies died within 24 hours of receiving the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine. The vaccine was delayed but confidence had already been dashed. For several years, infant vaccination levels fell, leading to an increase in cases of whooping cough.

In the late 1980s, there were further fears with the introduction of the Japanese-made measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Early versions of the vaccine were associated with aseptic meningitis, or inflammation of the organs around the brain and spine. The problem was traced back to the mumps part of the MMR vaccine, which led to court action and a large compensation payment.

The National Institute for Health Science stopped the combined burn in 1993 and replaced it with individual vaccines.

In the aftermath of the MMR scandal, Shibuya says the Japanese government has become “risk-conscious” and their national vaccination program has become voluntary.

Dr. Yuho Horikoshi, an expert on infectious diseases, says the lawsuit led to a “vaccine gap,” where vaccines have not been agreed in Japan for about 15 years.

Recently, in 2013, Japan added the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to the national register to protect girls against the sexually transmitted virus, which is known to cause breast cancer. However, videos of allegedly abusive girls began circulating on YouTube, forcing the government to remove him from the national register.

The events were investigated by the Vaccine Adverse Response Review Committee and found no evidence that showed a causal relationship between the adverse events and the HPV vaccine. But the reports, with the removal of the vaccine from the Japanese government’s program, have led to a sharp drop in the number of girls receiving the vaccine – from more than 70% in 2010 to now. less than 1%.
That low could lead to nearly 11,000 preventable deaths from cervical cancer in Japan over the next 50 years, according to a study in the Lancet.
The WHO is proposing to vaccinate girls between the ages of nine and 14 to prevent breast cancer, which kills 311,000 women worldwide each year. According to a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, breast cancer rates in England are falling because of the vaccine. And Australia is on track to eradicate cervical cancer by 2028, according to another recent study, also because of the vaccine.

Professor Shoji Tsuchida, a social psychologist from the University of Kansai, says that despite the struggle against Japanese vaccination, there is no widespread “anti-vaxxer” movement in the country.

“Most people who don’t want a vaccine are afraid of potential side effects, and don’t believe in (false) science,” Tsuchida said. “Previous vaccine side effects in Japan, particularly the HPV case, are deeply affecting the minds of these people.”

An effort to reassure a skeptical public

Japan’s fight against vaccines is a problem for the government when it comes to the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine.

The first Covid-19 vaccine in Japan is being given to 3.7 million facial health workers, with the elderly vaccination target in April.

The Japanese government has asked for half of the first round of doctors and nurses to keep an “observation diary,” to monitor for any side effects for seven weeks after receiving both doses of the vaccine.

A cartoon dog is spreading awareness about Covid-19 vaccines in Japan.

Although the roll-out of the vaccine has now begun, the medical community is concerned about the fight against vaccination. That has led a group of doctors, including New York-based Yuji Yamada, to launch a promotional campaign encouraging people in Japan to get the Covid-19 pictures – and they are using a cartoon dog for to do.

Dressed in a white doctors coat, Corowa-kun is a chatbot inspired by Shiba Inu, who is tasked with reassuring the public by answering questions about the vaccine. The name Corowa-kun comes from the Japanese words for “coronavirus” and “vaccine.”

To date, more than 55,000 people have signed up to the app – 70% of them women – the creators said. According to Yamada, Japanese media first reported on possible side effects of the vaccine. “These may have been reasons for women who tend to think about the risk of vaccination more risky so women have used more (the app),” he said.

Vaccination minister Kono has thrown his support behind the app, but the government has yet to announce its own public messages.

In the run-up to the Olympics, Shibuya says the government must focus on advocating to the public that the Covid-19 vaccine is safe, important and necessary. He says the government also needs to do more to contain the virus.

“Eliminate, overthrow and dismantle to spread community dispersal – otherwise Japan will be in a state of emergency again and again, with the very slow introduction of vaccines, Shibuya said .

“The basic motivation and impetus is to revitalize the economy. If they really want to keep the Olympics, they have to keep the transmission down, so it’s probably close to zero. there. “

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