By Mari YamaguchiJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday his government is accelerating COVID-19 booster shots and securing oral medicines after speaking with Pfizer Inc CEO Albert Burla. Japan, which lacks home-developed vaccines, has so far approved booster shots from Pfizer and Moderna. Kishida said the government will start giving booster shots to elderly people seven months after their second shot starting February. Japan on Dec 1 started giving booster shots to medical workers using the Pfizer vaccine, with the elderly expected to be next in line. The Health Ministry also said Thursday that one of its quarantine officials tested positive for the Omicron variant.

Source: The Guardian December 17, 2021 23:53 UTC