Suga Asks Pfizer For Additional Deliveries Of Vaccines Against COVID19 - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th April, 2021) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has held telephone talks with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla asking him for additional coronavirus vaccine shipments, the NHK broadcaster reports.

The talks were held on Saturday - the last day of Suga's three-day visit to the US.

Suga said that more deliveries were needed in order to have enough doses by September. Bourla expressed readiness to ensure steady vaccine deliveries to Japan and to hold more talks on additional shipments.

Prizer has reportedly offered to supply 100 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to Japan.

Japan's vaccination campaign started in February with BioNTech/Pfizer shots - the only coronavirus vaccine currently approved in the country. In addition, Japan is set to receive AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines, which are expected to be certified in May.

Earlier this week, a Kyodo poll revealed that over 70 percent of people in Japan think that the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo should either be canceled or postponed as public concerns are mounting over the fourth coronavirus wave and slow vaccine rollout.