Japan steps up vaccination at more workplaces

This comes after the government received a more-than-expected number of applications for such programmes and has been screening the applications, said Suga at a meeting of relevant cabinet ministers on measures against COVID-19. 

Though workplace vaccinations started in mid-June with thousands of companies applying for the programme, tight vaccine supplies had put vaccinations at about half of 5,000 worksites on hold. 

Japan aims to complete second-vaccine shots for over 40% of its population by the end of August by speeding up vaccinations of young people, the prime minister said.  

Some health experts have blamed the recent surge in infections to the low rate of vaccination among young adults in the country. The minister in charge of vaccination Taro Kono had said, “We need to reach out to the younger people so that they would feel that it’s necessary for them to get vaccinated. If we could vaccinate (those in their) 20s or people in (their) 30s for 80% or higher, it would be a good number for me.”  

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Young adults are now eligible for vaccination under Japan’s largely age-based inoculation programme. 

The prime minister said he believes that his administration has almost achieved its target of completing two vaccine shots by the end of July for people aged 65 and over who opted to be vaccinated, according to Jiji Press.