TIME OUT


 

When we can expect the coronavirus vaccines to be approved and how they’ll be distributed

Now that a handful of countries have begun administering the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines, the Japanese government is working to follow suit with sights set on the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Here’s the projected timeline of how Japan will carry out its vaccination programme.

End-January 2021: Local clinical trials to begin for the Moderna vaccine. Pfizer is also scheduled to submit the data from its clinical trials in Japan by the end of this month, The Japan Times reports.

Part of the reason why Japan is taking longer to roll out the vaccines is that it requires more clinical tests than other countries for the vaccine to be deemed safe. 

Mid-February: Health minister says this is the expected time frame for the Pfizer vaccine to be approved if all goes according to plan. 

Late-February: Rollout begins, with the first Pfizer vaccines going out to four million medical workers. 

Late-March: Pfizer vaccines for 36 million people will be made available. Senior citizens aged 65 or older will be prioritised. 

May: The Moderna vaccine is expected to be approved around this time.

According to Reuters, the head of the Japan vaccine business for local pharmaceutical company Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said that securing approval for the vaccine in May was the ‘best case scenario’. This is because clinical trials are likely to take months. 

End-June: The remaining 120 million doses of Pfizer vaccine to be made available. This will provide for up to 60 million people as the vaccine is administered in two separate doses.