Japan eyes mixed use of Covid-19 shots to speed vaccine rolloutWoman who does street surveys wears a mask and a face shield during a state of emergency in Tokyo on Sunday. (Reuters photo)TOKYO: Japan is looking into the possibility of mixing shots of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine with those developed by other drug makers in a bid to speed up its vaccine rollout, the minister in charge of vaccinations said on Sunday. Japan, which has previously relied on the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, approved AstraZeneca's vaccine in July and has secured two million doses. This could speed up the vaccination rollout by shortening the intervals between the first and second shots when using the AstraZeneca vaccine, he said. Japan has inoculated 54% of its population with at least one dose and fully vaccinated 43%, according to a Reuters vaccine tracker.

Source: Bangkok Post August 29, 2021 08:26 UTC