Most Japan companies plan to conduct workplace COVID-19 vaccinations

Some 97% of companies in Japan plan to conduct workplace COVID-19 vaccinations, which will cover at least 2 million people, according to a survey by Kyodo News. 

Of the 116 major companies surveyed, 59% of employers either plan or have already decided to allow their staff to take vaccination leave on the day of their vaccination or the following day if they suffer side effects from the jab. 

In a bid to speed up the vaccination rate in the country, the Japanese government has unveiled a plan that allows companies and universities to run their own vaccination drives.

This however, has since been suspended as the demand has outstripped the available vaccines in the country. Vaccines will still be delivered for applications that have already been approved, although it is still unknown when the government will resume accepting new applications.

Currently, organisations planning to vaccinate over 1,000 people are given the go-ahead to administer on-site inoculations.

Among the companies that plan to conduct workplace vaccinations include cosmetics maker Shiseido, trading house Marubeni Corporation, and investment and tech giant SoftBank Group, which said it will vaccinate about 150,000 people, including employees’ family members.

READ: Japan engages companies to boost vaccination drive

In the survey, 34%, or 39 of the companies said they had already set a start date for the vaccinations, while one third said they have rough timelines planned. 

As for the vaccination venue, 72 companies selected their office headquarters, 47 selected branch offices and 24 chose factories.