Japan kicks off COVID-19 vaccination drive

ANKARA (AA) - Japan launched its coronavirus vaccination campaign on Wednesday, local media reported.

Twelve healthcare workers, including three doctors and five nurses, got their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine at the state-run Tokyo Medical Center, with none immediately feeling any side effects, according to the Kyodo News Agency.

Kazuhiro Araki, head of the Tokyo Medical Center, was the first person in the country to get the shot.

The campaign launch came after the government came under public criticism for its response to the pandemic.

As of Feb. 2, the government extended a state of emergency in the capital Tokyo and 10 other provinces for a month to stem the virus’ spread.

Restrictions were first imposed in three prefectures on Jan. 7 until Feb. 7. They were expanded to a total of 11 regions on Jan. 14, and are now in place until March 7.

Under government plans, 20,000 healthcare workers will initially take part in a study to track side effects potentially caused by the vaccine and the frequency with which they occur, the report said.

Some 3.7 million front-line health workers are to receive vaccines in March, followed by 36 million people 65 or older starting in April, and then the general public.

The first shipment of about 386,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines arrived in the country last week, and the government granted immediate approval for domestic use on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Taro Kono, the minister in charge of vaccination efforts, said that foreign residents will become eligible for the free shots in the same order of priority as Japanese citizens, as long as they are registered with a municipality.

Japan has so far reported 418,437 coronavirus cases with 7,139 deaths, while 387,584 people have recovered, according to data from the US' Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid