Jun 17 (Japan Times) - Japan’s state-run mass COVID-19 inoculation centers started administering vaccine to people age 18 or older Thursday, extending vaccinations beyond those aged 65 or over as many slots at the centers remain vacant.
The move came two days after the Defense Ministry, which runs the centers in Tokyo and Osaka, decided to remove age restrictions so as not to waste vaccine doses at the facilities where slots remained largely vacant for the period through June 27.
As of 10 a.m. Thursday, around 90% of the 70,000 slots at the Tokyo center between next Monday and June 27 were filled. At the Osaka center, however, around 20,000 of the 35,000 slots for the same period were still unfilled.
The centers, which can inoculate up to 10,000 people per day in Tokyo and 5,000 in Osaka, administer U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna Inc.’s two-dose vaccine, which is recommended for people aged 18 or older.
A vaccination coupon sent by a local municipality is required to make a reservation via the Defense Ministry’s website, the Line messaging app service or a phone call.
Slots from June 28 onward, however, are mostly reserved for older people to receive second doses of the vaccine, with hardly any slots available for new reservations.
Source: ANNnewsCH
