Vaccination in Japan has been unquenchable for decades and is now causing tremendous trouble

3.7 percent and 59.7 percent.

Currently, these two key indicators in Japan, a good two months postponed from last year to this year Tokyo Olympics before. The first number indicates what percentage of the population has already received at least the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and the second indicates how much they are opposed to holding five-ring games.

From the organizers’ point of view, both figures are overwhelming, and no significant improvement is expected to be achieved in either short time. Most Japanese don’t want an Olympics in the middle of an epidemic, but for reasons past, most don’t want to get vaccinated either.

Japan had a lot of trouble with vaccines

As one of the richest countries in the world, Japan occupies a shameful position in the vaccination ranking. By May 17, only 3.7 percent of the population had received at least the first dose of a vaccine, making it a driver of the developed world, as vaccination is already around 30 percent or more in much of the richer countries.

The problem is complex. Szuga Josihide the prime minister and his party, the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party, wanted to vaccinate with a domestic vaccine from the beginning. Once that didn’t come together, they could only line up at the end of the line at foreign pharmaceutical companies.

The next concern is that the approval protocol is extremely complex, and they did not want to alleviate it in the midst of this epidemic. Pharmaceutical companies are also required to conduct clinical trials in Japan, they do not accept foreign experience. Therefore, only the Pfizer vaccine has been given the green light, Moderna and AstraZeneca have not.

It also turned out that a country’s success in epidemic management can also have setbacks. Although there have been several waves in Japan over the past year, the coronavirus has claimed just over ten thousand casualties in a country of 126 million. Thanks to organized, mass testing and effective contact research, citizens did not feel in great danger. As a result, most people prefer not to inject the vaccine for the time being, but rather wait for the side effects.

These information campaigns and other methods could help, but for historical reasons, vaccination is common in Japan and difficult to change.

Uncertainty about vaccines began to take on more serious proportions in the early 1970s, when the government had to face a mass of class action lawsuits over its claims about the side effects of smallpox and other disease vaccines. Two decades later, in 1992, a court ruled that the Japanese government was responsible for possible side effects caused by vaccines. Two years later, the current government also revised the relevant law and abolished all mandatory vaccinations, even for children. Since then, the paragraph has only stated that efforts should be made to include vaccines.

The big vaccine scandal of the 1990s made it another shovel. This is when it was suspected that the combined vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella may increase the chances of developing aseptic meningitis in childhood. This includes cases of meningitis in which no bacterial infection can be detected. Although the connection has never been proven, it is the belief of most Japanese, and the government has not recommended vaccination since then.

The most recent wave of vaccinations came in 2013, when the Japanese Ministry of Health withdrew a vaccine against human papillomavirus from its recommendations after unfounded news in the press said it could cause chronic headaches and seizures. Although there is scientific evidence that the vaccine is safe and prevents cervical cancer, the rate of HPV vaccination in Japan has since dropped from 70 percent to 1 percent. And that has caused more than 5,700 deaths in the past seven years, according to studies.

Anyone who is 83 can still feel young

A peculiar duality is that although the epidemic has been treated much better, people in Japan now have to live under more severe restrictions than in the United States, where very many people died of the disease in the past. Just as it is an extraordinary difference that while the Pfizer vaccine has already been approved in America for the 12-15 age group, in Japan an 83 year old cannot yet take place.

In the Asian island nation, the possibility of taking the vaccine for people aged 85-89 has only been opened for days. This is also due to the fact that the Japanese population is the oldest in the world: 29 percent of citizens, about 36 million people, are 65 years of age or older. So I had to focus on those over 85 for the first time. The reason why the process is so slow is also explained by the lack of human resources (for example, due to the well-known Japanese precision, a dentist cannot administer a vaccine, although he would probably be able to do so) and logistical problems.

A serious flaw in the vaccination program may also have slipped, with 28 million Pfizer vaccines already stockpiled in the country in early May, of which 24 million were still resting intact in freezers. The use of Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines is also expected to be accepted these days. If this is the case, the stock will expand further, as 30 million of the latter alone have already been produced in the country.

It would be a ruthless fall for Tokyo to blow up the Olympics

It can already be said for sure that Japan will not reach the flock immunity until the start of the Olympics. It won’t even be around, as few have gone through the disease and not so many have received their first dose of a vaccine so far. It is estimated that by the end of September, the vaccine may be available to everyone over the age of 18 in the country, by which time the Olympics will be over. But for the reasons listed above, it is already inconceivable that 70 percent of the population will ask for the vaccine.

While 90 percent of people are afraid of another wave of epidemics caused by one of the variants and 59.7 percent would support blowing out five-ring games. But one Tokyo medical association also called on Prime Minister Suga Josihide to resign from the Olympics.

But the contract between the International Olympic Committee and the host city is pretty clear: it only covers one place to cancel the event, but only the committee can use this option, not Tokyo.

In addition to war or armed struggle, the cancellation can also be justified if the IOC has good reason to believe that the safety of the participants in the Games is endangered by something. It can also be an epidemic. In addition, the Olympic Charter states that the IOC must ensure the protection of the health of all competitors and promote safe sport.

But the Olympic Committee seems to be it is not in his mind to cancel games.

And for local organizers to back out of the show two months before the event in violation of the contract is also unlikely because the revenue from sponsors and broadcasting rights could be in the billions of dollars.