Japan to Provide Free COVID-19 Vaccinations to Entire Population... Vaccination Act Amendment Passed

Plan to Start Vaccinations This Year and Secure Vaccines for the Entire Population by the First Half of Next Year

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] All Japanese citizens will be able to receive the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) vaccine free of charge.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 3rd, the House of Councillors of Japan unanimously passed an amendment to the Vaccination Act in the plenary session the day before, mandating that COVID-19 vaccines be administered free of charge to all citizens. According to the amendment, municipal local governments will carry out COVID-19 vaccinations, with all costs fully covered by the national government, and citizens will have an obligation to make efforts to receive the vaccination.

Based on this, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare plans to start vaccinations this year and secure enough vaccines for the entire population by the first half of next year. They plan to purchase a total of 145 million doses from three companies: Pfizer (USA), AstraZeneca (UK), and Moderna (USA). Vaccines imported from overseas will also be approved for use after confirming their safety and efficacy.

However, even for vaccines approved by the Japanese government, if safety and efficacy are not clearly established at the time of approval, exceptions to the obligation will be recognized, allowing those who do not wish to be vaccinated to avoid it. To facilitate vaccine procurement, a provision was included allowing the Japanese government to assume liability for compensation that pharmaceutical companies must pay for health damages after vaccination.

Additionally, provisions were made to provide medical expenses and disability pensions to those who suffer adverse effects after vaccination. This is in preparation for the possibility of unexpected side effects arising from large-scale vaccinations using new technologies such as artificial genes in the early-stage COVID-19 vaccines.

Pfizer has already been conducting early-stage clinical trials investigating side effects on 160 subjects since last October, prior to applying for approval from the Japanese government. Subsequently, final-stage clinical trials verifying efficacy on tens of thousands of subjects will be conducted. However, since the number of COVID-19 cases in Japan is lower compared to the USA or Europe, Pfizer is expected to soon apply for approval from the Japanese government based on trial results from other countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.