Japan Reaches 100 Million Vaccine Doses as Focus Shifts to Youth
Japan Reaches 100 Million Vaccine Doses as Focus Shifts to Youth
(Bloomberg) -- Japan has administered more than 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines and surpassed the U.S. in the proportion of elderly fully vaccinated, according to government figures released Tuesday.
The vaccination mark comes as Japan, like many other nations, is in the midst of a fresh wave of coronavirus infections attributed to the delta variant. Japan and its capital of Tokyo have reported record daily infection numbers for several days this month, as the Summer Olympics were drawing to a close.
Most of the new infections have been among those in their 20s and 30s, showing the impact of the gap in inoculation rates between the elderly and the rest of the population.
As of Tuesday, Japan had administered 102.9 million doses and 81.6% of its residents 65 or older were fully vaccinated, according to the prime minister’s office. That’s higher than the 80.4% of the same age group fully vaccinated in the U.S., according to Centers for Disease Control of Prevention data. But in the U.S., 90.5% of those 65 and older have received at least one dose, higher than the 87.6% in Japan.
Japan also has a lower percentage of its population fully vaccinated than any member of the Group of Seven advanced nations. Japan is at 32.9%, compared with 50.8% in the U.S. and 59% in the U.K., according to the Johns Hopkins University’s vaccine tracker.
A poll carried out by public broadcaster NHK Aug. 7-9 found 75% of respondents thought Japan’s vaccine rollout was “slow,” while only 18% said it was “smooth.”
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.