Japan on February 17 began the implementation of the Covid-19 vaccination program, starting with health workers before expanding vaccination to the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions. The first shots of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer (USA) / BioNTech (Germany) for medical workers at a public hospital in the capital.
Japanese Minister of Health, Labor and Social Welfare Yamamoto Hiroshi said: “The start of the vaccination against Covid-19 is a big step that is expected to control the Covid-19 epidemic spreading in Japan. In the future, about 40,000 health workers at 100 hospitals across Japan will be vaccinated with the first doses.”
Japan is the country that launched the vaccination campaign later than at least 70 countries and territories around the world, that is 2 months later than the US and European countries.
Meanwhile, on Feb. 16, the White House said it would increase the weekly supply of vaccines for US states to 13.5 million doses, as well as double the number of vaccines delivered to pharmacies to 2 million doses in this week. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the increase in vaccine distribution to states marked a 57% increase since US President Joe Biden was sworn in on January 20.
“This program will expand access in neighboring areas across the country so that people can conveniently and quickly call, schedule and get injections. Finally, as vaccine supplies increase, more than 40,000 pharmacies nationwide will supply Covid-19 vaccine through this program. This is part of our plan, ” said spokesman Jen Psaki.
Up to now, the United States has allocated 53 million doses, of which 14 million people have received the second dose. Although the economies of ASEAN member countries are declining due to the Covid-19 epidemic along with many countries around the world, Countries in the bloc are speeding up the Covid-19 vaccination campaign.
Since mid-January, Indonesia has officially launched phase 1 of the national vaccination program Covid-19 free of charge for health workers and civil servants with 3 million doses of vaccine provided by Sinovac of China. Today, Indonesia started to vaccinate Covid-19 for the second priority group of textile workers, athletes, and police.
One worker vaccinated against the Covid-19 vaccine reported: “At first I was a bit shy about getting vaccinated, but after the injection, everything was fine, nothing happened. I think the vaccination is a good start for the country to recover its economy and get back to normal ”.
The Indonesian government’s updated data showed that nearly 800,000 people received the first shot. Another 25 million doses of the vaccine are expected to be produced by the end of March, with ingredients supplied by Sinovac, according to officials. Indonesia aims to vaccinate two-thirds of its 270 million people within 15 months.
Other Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Myanmar, Laos … have already vaccinated Covid-19 for the front line staff and are expected to complete the Covid-19 vaccination program for the entire population by the end of the year or Q1 next year.