Japan opened its first mass vaccination centers against the coronavirus on Monday, May 24, in order to accelerate its vaccination campaign, the slowness of which is widely criticized less than two months now from the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8).
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The two centers set up in Tokyo and Osaka (west), and managed by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, will be responsible for administering thousands of doses of vaccines daily to people aged 65 and over.
Just 2% of the approximately 125 million inhabitants of the Archipelago have so far received the two doses of vaccine, against 40% in the United States or 15% in France.
Critics are increasingly strong in the face of this slowness, explained in part by strict medical rules and red tape, while part of the country is under a state of emergency facing a fourth wave of Covid-19.
However, among the first seniors who passed through the Tokyo vaccinodrome on Monday, a feeling of relief dominated. “
This is great. I can find some peace now,
"said Hideo Ishikiwa, 73, to the media, saying he had felt"
anxious and tense
"since the start of the pandemic. "
The Olympics could have taken place more serenely if (the authorities, Editor's note) had done this earlier and that 80 or 90% of the population was vaccinated
" by the event, lamented Munemitsu Watanabe, 71, saying to himself however personally "
relieved
".
Some 10,000 doses must be administered daily at the Tokyo Vaccinodrome, and 5,000 in Osaka, the two centers using the Moderna vaccine, authorized since Friday, May 21 by the Japanese government.
AstraZeneca, also approved on Friday, will not be used immediately, however, due to rare but serious cases of thrombosis (blood clots) seen in other countries.
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Japan began administering the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in February to its medical staff and then to people 65 and older, whom the government hopes to finish vaccinating by the end of July.
Maintenance of the Tokyo Olympics
The prospect of the Tokyo Olympics did not influence the vaccination program, however, said the Japanese government.
Relatively spared from the pandemic compared to other countries, with some 12,000 officially recorded deaths since early 2020, Japan is however experiencing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases putting its medical system under pressure.
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The population is strongly opposed to the holding of the Games, but the organizers keep repeating that very strict antivirus measures and the ban on spectators coming from abroad will allow them to be organized "
in complete safety
".
