Mass vaccination centres open in Tokyo, Osaka

TOKYO: The Japanese government on Monday opened large-scale inoculation centres in Tokyo and Osaka waimed at speeding up the country's sluggish Covid-19 vaccination rollout.

With just two months to go until the Tokyo Olympics and with the country's vaccination campaign the slowest among OECD countries, the government has enlisted Self-Defense Forces' (SDF) doctors and nurses to operate the facilities for three months.

The SDF personnel will be administering jabs using the newly-approved Moderna Inc Covid vaccine, developed in the US and formally approved here on May 21.

Up until now Japan had only been using the vaccine developed by Pfizer, but the government has also approved the use of Britain's AstraZeneca Plc., although jab may not be rolled out immediately amid concerns over extremely rare instances of blood clots.

The government is hoping that the two mass vaccination centres will be able to compete administering the vaccinations to 36 million seniors aged 65 or older by the end of July. (IANS)

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