Japan Pauses Applications For Vaccination At Workplace - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th June, 2021) Japan on Wednesday announced an indefinite pause on company applications for Coronavirus vaccinations at workplace due to slow distribution capacity, media reported.

The government will close off applications from companies after 5 p.m. on Friday the Kyodo news agency reported citing Taro Kono, the minister in charge of the inoculation effort.

Kono said that the government had received more requests for Moderna vaccine doses from companies that it was able to meet and that most of the 50 million doses it expected to receive by September had already been allocated.

The action does not affect medical centers administering the Pfizer vaccine.

It is in line with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's goal to inoculate eligible persons among the 125 million Japanese population by November.

Vaccinations began at major companies and university campuses in Japan on Monday, accelerating the distribution which was mainly limited to health care workers and senior citizens.

Japan kicked off the vaccine rollout in February, covering 4.7 million health care workers in the first phase. Starting from April, it began administering shots to over-65s, with some 36 million seniors expected to be vaccinated during this stage.