Japan’s health ministry formally approved Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, marking the fourth foreign-developed inoculation to fight infections, as the country sees signs of a subvariant-driven rebound. of omicron
The ministry’s approval comes a day after its expert panel endorsed the use of Novavax’s protein vaccine, which is designed with technology similar to that used to combat diseases such as influenza and hepatitis B, for the two first doses and a booster.
According to Health Minister Shigeyuki Goto, Novavax’s vaccine adds variety to the available options and could appeal to those hesitant to use Pfizer and Moderna’s immunizations, which are designed with newer technologies.
The application of the Novavax vaccine is expected to begin at the end of May.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health reported 24,164 new cases. Japan lifted all COVID-19-related restrictions in March as infections dropped significantly, but experts noted signs of an uptick in several provinces during a season of travel and parties for people celebrating graduation and beginning of the academic and commercial year.
The government tries to expand commercial activity and reactivate the economy affected by the pandemic.
Although Japan is gradually easing border controls after coming under fire for long-standing restrictions on non-resident foreign students, academics and businessmen, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan is not planning to resume access to the short-term tourism.
The booster campaign has been slow in Japan and less than 50% of the population has received boosters of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. A third vaccine, that of AstraZeneca, is hardly used due to public concern about reports of rare cases of thrombi, so most of these batches are donated to Asian countries with few vaccines bilaterally or through a program supported by the United Nations.
About 80% of the elderly Japanese population have received three injections of the vaccine.
According to Goto, Japan has agreed to buy 150 million doses of the Novavax vaccines developed by the Maryland company, which will help stabilize the supply of vaccines in a country that is totally dependent on foreign imports, since the development of its own vaccines has lagged behind. Novavax’s distributor in Japan, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., will locally manufacture 250 million doses annually.
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