Workers at Tokyo Medical Center were among the first of some 40,000 medical professionals targeted to receive the initial shipments of the vaccine. They will be followed by 3.7 million more medical personnel, then 36 million people aged 65 and over. "This is the first major step towards ending the coronavirus (pandemic)," Vice Health Minister Hiroshi Yamamoto told reporters at the hospital after the first vaccines were administered. Japan has signed contracts to procure a combined total of 314 million vaccine doses from Pfizer Inc and BionTech , AstraZeneca Plc and Moderna Inc - enough for 157 million people. The government plans to inoculate medical workers first, then senior citizens, those with health conditions, and workers at elderly care facilities.

Source: bd News24 February 17, 2021 04:41 UTC