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TOKYO (Reuters) – The European Union has approved the first shipment of Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine to Japan, Japan’s vaccination program minister said on Tuesday, as the country plans to start vaccination by now mid-February.
It appears that every shipment requires EU approval, Minister Taro Kono said. He did not say how many doses the first shipment would contain, or when it would be delivered.
“This will allow us to start immunizing the initial group of medical workers. We will need to set the schedule for the rest of the medical workers and the elderly as we move forward,” Kono said at a regular press conference.
The Japanese government plans to vaccinate medical personnel first, then the elderly, then people with health problems and those working in care facilities for the elderly.
Japan, with a population of 126 million, has signed contracts to purchase 314 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca PLC, Moderna Inc and Pfizer, enough for 157 million people.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing by Christopher Cushing and Gerry Doyle)
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