The Omicron variant in many countries generally triggers mild COVID-19 symptoms, cases of hospitalization for COVID-19 are relatively lower than the ‘tantrum’ of the Delta variant of COVID-19. The same thing was also reported in Indonesia, but not in Japan.
Japan reports a spike in COVID-19 deaths. Not a few vulnerable groups in Sakura Country are at risk of fatal exposure to Omicron after the previous government delayed giving booster vaccinations.
What caused it?
“The Japanese government’s delay in carrying out COVID-19 booster vaccinations has made the country more vulnerable than other rich countries when the Omicron variant recently triggered a spike in deaths,” the experts said, quoted by Reuters on Wednesday (16/2/2022).
Almost 30 percent of the population in Japan are aged 65 years and over, they are the ones who are at high risk of dying from COVID-19. Especially without protection from booster vaccinations.
As of Tuesday (15/2/2022), Japan recorded 236 new COVID-19 deaths, becoming one of the worst days during the COVID-19 pandemic as the death toll soared.
Although Japan was relatively slow to launch a vaccination campaign at the start, the country quickly accelerated the vaccination process and in November had the highest vaccination rate of any other rich country.
However, specifically for the booster vaccination program, the government deliberately gives a longer lag of eight months after complete vaccination, when many other countries have started the program by receiving a minimum of six months of primary vaccination.
In the end, adapting to the situation, Japan followed the steps of other countries to give booster vaccinations at least six months after receiving complete vaccinations. However, until now only 10 percent of the Japanese population has been vaccinated with the booster, much lower than South Korea and Singapore, which are around 50 percent.
“If they tell us in November that six months (a gap between booster and primary vaccines) is enough, then in Soma we can start booster vaccinations from December, and for that I get annoyed,” said Hidekiyo Tachiya, mayor of Soma in northern Japan. who is also a doctor.
“If it had been sooner, there wouldn’t have been so much suffering and so many people wouldn’t have died.”
Authorities in Tokyo also pushed for the booster to be carried out faster but the government did not immediately agree to the request.
“We asked for a booster vaccine as soon as possible, but the government did not agree,” Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters recently.
A spokesman for Japan’s health ministry later said the eight-month gap between booster and primary vaccinations was decided by the health sciences council and the provision was modified from December to January as the Omicron threat emerged.
Also check out ‘Pritama Arhan Officially Joins Japanese Club Tokyo Verdy’:
(naf/up)
–
