Society

80 percent of elderly in Japan vaccinated

Jul 16 (NHK) - The Japanese government says that nearly 80 percent of the elderly in the country have received at least one shot of a coronavirus vaccine so far, and more than half of them have been fully vaccinated with two shots.

Japan's vaccine rollout started in February, with medical workers being the first group to be vaccinated. Since April, vaccinations for people who turn 65 or older by the end of March 2022 have been taking place nationwide.

The latest government data as of Wednesday shows that around 28,135,000 people, or 79.28 percent of the elderly population, have received their first shots so far.

Also, approximately 18,537,000 people, or 52.24 percent of the elderly, have been fully vaccinated with their second shots.

The percentage of all people who have received their first shots, including medical workers and younger people, stands at 31.59 percent of Japan's total population.

The percentage of those who have been fully vaccinated with two shots stands at 19.68 percent of the population.

The government data is based on vaccination numbers reported by local governments around the country, but due to a delay in reporting online, the actual number of vaccinations could be higher than reported.

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