- The chief of Japan’s COVID-19 vaccination programme denied media reports that vaccinations for the general population may start in May, as the country battles a third wave that has brought record numbers of infections and serious cases.
- Local media, including public broadcaster NHK, cited an anonymous source close to the government as saying vaccinations could reach the general public as soon as May.
- “Oh no, NHK, please don’t go around making vaccination roll-out schedules like that. It’s bogus,” administrative reform minister Taro Kono, who was selected to spearhead the vaccine roll-out this week, tweeted on Wednesday (Jan 20).
- The daily Yomiuri said the government was aiming to inoculate most of the population by July, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics scheduled to start July 23.
- Japan has arranged to buy 540 million doses from multiple Western developers including Pfizer Inc, whose vaccine is expected to be the first to receive regulatory approval.
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