Does Japan Seem Like a Poor Model for Fighting COVID-19? [2021/04/09]
At least 161 countries and territories have administered over 693 million doses of a novel coronavirus vaccine in the four months since the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to start its vaccination rollout on December 8，2020.
But as I wrote in this blog on March 11, Japan falls far behind other countries in inoculating its people against COVID-19, and there is no sign of the country accelerating its vaccination program.
I would like to share with you the latest data collected by a team of Oxford University students and staff as of April 6 (see table below), which shows the United States has administered 168.59 million doses, followed by China (145.92 million), India (87.08 million), the United Kingdom (37.12 million), Brazil (22.85 million), and Turkey (17.37 million). But Japan has administered only 1.29 million shots, falling far behind not only other Group of Seven countries, but also some Asian developing nations, such as Indonesia (13.45 million) and Bangladesh (5.54 million).
For the sake of a fairer comparison, if we take a look at the total number of vaccination doses administered per 100 people in the total population, Israel led the list with 117.31, followed by the United Arab Emirates (87.55), Chile (59.13), United Kingdom (54.68), Bahrain (50.41) and Serbia (38.59). Japan came far below at 1.02.
The vaccine rollout strategy varies from country to country. Some have favored inoculating as many people as possible as quickly as possible, while others have tried to prioritize vaccinating specific vulnerable groups.
Japan started its vaccination campaign on February 17 by prioritizing about 4.8 million front-line medical personnel. It is using a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that requires two doses to provide the greatest protection. But according to media reports, as of early April, only one fourth of those healthcare workers had been vaccinated at least once. This has led some medical professionals to claim in media interviews that they have no idea when they will be vaccinated, with no word given by the local authorities.
On April 12, Japan will start giving shots to approximately 36 million people aged 65 or older. But as for about 8.2 million people with underlying health conditions, some 2 million care workers at nursing facilities and the remaining adult population, no decision has been taken.
The central and local governments as well as the entire population have been struggling with COVID-19 for more than a year, but there are no signs of the pandemic receding.
Believing that “vaccines will be the decisive factor” in our fight against the coronavirus, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said, I sincerely hope Japan will not become a poor model for conquering COVID-19.
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered, as of April 6, 2021
Total number of vaccination doses administered as compiled by “Our World in Data,” a team of Oxford University students and staff. This is counted as a single dose, and may not equal the total number of people vaccinated, depending on the specific dose regime (e.g. people receive multiple doses).
